KH III: The Great War of Darkness and Light
by Mad Dr. Matt
Summary: Yet another version of Kingdom Hearts III to grace this website.  When old enemies surface and launch war on the universe, Sora and his friends set out on another adventure leading to the ultimate battle between light and darkness.
1. Prologue

_Author's note: Welcome to my Kingdom Hearts story. Since an official Kingdom Hearts III maybe in the near future, I present my own version of it. Note that this disregards Birth by Sleep and the yet unreleased Kingdom Hearts coded since I have yet to play it and this has been in my mind for a long time since before I heard of them. A few common elements will be used but not in any major capacity._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters in this fanfiction. They all belong to either Disney or Square Enix._

**Kingdom Hearts III: **

**The Great War of Darkness and Light**

**A fanfiction by Mad Dr. Matt **

**Prologue**

_From the writings of Master Yen Sid:_

_There are many great tales that surround our universe and its many worlds. Within each world, an amazing story unfolds. But none of the stories is greater than the one that unites them all: the story of Sora the Hero of the Keyblade._

_The legend of the Keyblade is known well throughout the worlds so it is surprising that it would choose someone as young as Sora. Even I was surprised to learn that the Keyblade had chosen the young boy from a peaceful archipelago of islands._

_However, Sora's endeavors have proven that age has nothing to do with the strength of a heart. And it is thanks to Sora, that the worlds lost to the darkness have been restored and the threat of Organization XIII has been eliminated._

_It is also important to commemorate the ones who gave Sora tremendous assistance in the quest to vanquish the darkness. His closest friends Kairi and Riku as well as the brave trio from Disney Castle, Donald Duck and Goofy as well as my former apprentice King Mickey all deserve recognition for their efforts. Other valiant souls throughout the worlds also should be recognized so it is important that the exploits of Mulan, Tarzan, Jack Sparrow, Hercules, Auron, Ariel, Aladdin, Cloud, Simba, Tron, Jack Skellington, the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee and others who played a part in Sora's victory over the Heartless, the Nobodies, and of course, the prime mover among all of them, Xehanort be acknowledged._

_But though the worlds are currently at peace since the fall of the Organization, I regret to say that an even greater crisis is on the horizon. The Council and I all believe that the threat caused by Xehanort has not yet passed and I regret to say, that the worlds will have need of Sora and his friends._

_It is unfortunate that this burden falls on the shoulders of ones so young. But Sora and his friends have proven that they are up to the challenge. I have notified the King and he in turn has sent word to Sora. All that is left to do now is wait._

_Yen Sid, Master Sorcerer_


	2. Ch 1: The King's Letter

**Chapter 1: The King's Letter**

**Destiny Islands**

_Dear Sora, Riku and Kairi,_

_To start with, I wish to thank you once again for all that you have done for the universe. Donald, Goofy and everyone here at Disney Castle and Radiant Garden are very grateful and proud for what you have done. I'm sure if they knew, all your friends from around the universe would send their thanks as well._

_But I didn't write this letter just to say that. Master Yen Sid and the Council of the Watchers of the Worlds have been reading the signs and believe that something big is coming. Something big and bad, I'm afraid._

_We are not sure what the threat may be. It could be the Heartless or the Nobodies. It may even be Maleficent and Pete causing trouble again. Whatever it is, we cannot be sure until it happens._

_Until we have more information, I recommend that the three of you exercise extreme caution. Being bearers of the Keyblade, you three are major targets for the forces of darkness._

_But don't lose heart. We've all faced hardships during our battles with the Heartless and the Organization. But we've pulled through and it all worked out for the best. So, I'm sure we can get through this one as well. Remember, a Gummi Ship always flies on a happy face._

_Spend your time resting or training and when the time is right, Donald, Goofy and I will come for you. Watch out for each other and we look forward to seeing you again._

_Best wishes,_

_King Mickey Mouse_

Upon reaching the end of the letter, Sora, Riku and Kairi all looked at each other. They were not expecting to hear from King Mickey so soon after returning to the Destiny Islands so they were quite surprised. It had only been a few weeks since the King, Donald and Goofy had left for their home in Disney Castle.

"Looks like duty calls again," said Riku. "Yep. Such is the life of a Keyblade master," said Sora.

"Hey. Since when did you become a Keyblade master? What makes you better than Kairi and me?" asked Riku with a smile on his face. "I happen to have had my Keyblade longer than you guys so logically, that makes me a master," retorted Sora.

Kairi laughed at Sora's comment. "I guess we can't argue with that logic," she said. "Oh sure. Take his side," said Riku.

"So what do you think this upcoming threat is going to be, Riku?" asked Sora. "It could be the Heartless again. Man, I wish they would just go away forever and never bother us again," said Riku.

"I agree. But Master Yen Sid told me that the only way for the Heartless to ever go away completely would be for every heart in the universe to not have any darkness. And as Leon told me, there is darkness in every heart," said Sora. "Ahem," said Kairi. "With seven exceptions of course," said Sora.

"I guess we can't all have hearts like Kairi's. But that would certainly stop our Heartless troubles as well as our Nobody problems. No hearts lost means no discarded bodies acting on their own," said Riku.

"What about Maleficent and Pete? Could they be the ones behind it?" asked Kairi.

"They might. We never did find out what happened to them when the Organization's castle collapsed. We were a little too busy fighting Xemnas to give them a second thought," said Riku.

"And from the looks of things when we last saw them confronting that army of Heartless, I don't think the battle went in their favor," said Sora. "As much as I hate to support the opinion of one of our enemies, I think Pete had the right idea in wanting to not battle them. But you know Maleficent. She's so arrogant," said Riku.

"It may even be something we've never faced before. It's a pretty big universe and there may even be greater villains than Maleficent and Xehanort out there," said Kairi.

The three of them gazed out at the setting sun over the ocean's horizon. The King's letter had instilled in them mixed emotions. They were a little sad that they would have to leave their home so soon. But they were also excited at the prospect of seeing their otherworld friends again. They were also confused over what this oncoming threat could be.

"Well, we can stand here mulling over what we may have to fight soon until it we're as mad as the residents of Wonderland. But I don't think that's what we should do," said Sora.

"So Keyblade master, what do you think we should do?" asked Riku. "Here's the plan. We'll go home for the night and get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, we'll come back here to do some training. The King said to be prepared and that's what we're going to do," said Sora.

"Yeah. We'll have to be since the next thing you know, a Shadow Heartless will leap at you from behind and rip out your heart," said Riku. "Thank you Riku for that pleasant image. Now I'm sure I'll be able to sleep tonight," said Sora sarcastically.

Kairi laughed again. "I missed you guys' witty banter. It was so dull around here without it. Come on then. Let's head for home," she said.

The three of them then headed along the beach to the docks where their boats were moored. Sora and Kairi walked side by side while Riku brought up the rear.

"So it looks like we may be heading on another adventure. And this time, I'm glad I'm not getting left behind," said Kairi. "What do you mean, Kairi?" asked Sora.

"If you recall, during our last adventure, I spent it running from the Organization members and eventually ended up in their dungeons. And I spent most of my time inside you during the first adventure. I'm not missing out on the action this time. You guys can't always have all the fun," said Kairi.

"Well I'm glad you're coming too. But these villains I've faced mean business. They won't ease up on us just because we're young. They'll pull out everything to destroy you if they get the chance. And I speak this from experience," said Sora.

"Aww, Sora. Are you worried about me?" asked Kairi. "Well, yeah. I mean, I don't want to lose you. You mean a lot to me," said Sora.

"Well, I'm flattered. But I think I should be able to take care of myself. After all, I eluded Axel's clutches," said Kairi. "But then Saix got you soon afterwards," said Sora.

"That's not going to happen again since this time, I'll have you and Riku watching my back. I'll be fine. But it is nice to know that you care. That's always been one of your best qualities, Sora," said Kairi.

Sora stopped as Kairi went on. As he watched her walk to the docks, he let out a sigh. 'I do care. More than I let you know, Kairi,' he thought.

His thoughts were interrupted by a slap on the back from Riku. "Stay focused, Keyblade master," he said as he passed by.

Riku then stopped and turned around to face Sora. "By the way, I've been to the secret place and I saw the drawing," he said with a serious face.

Sora gulped. The drawing he was referring to was of him and Kairi. Earlier before the Destiny Islands were invaded by the Heartless, he had altered the drawing to make it so he was offering a Paopu fruit to Kairi. Much to his surprise, when he went there shortly after returning, he found that Kairi had done the same only with the fruit being offered from her to him.

'Oh boy. I hope Riku's not jealous. He and I have always competed for Kairi's attention,' he thought. Then Riku smiled.

"You know, she's waiting for you to make a move since you got back. So let me know when you do. Then I can get you guys a real Paopu fruit and watch you share it. And don't worry. I'm okay with it. Really, I am," he said.

Riku then turned around and headed for Kairi who had reached the docks and was beginning to untie her boat. Sora stood where he was. Since returning to Destiny Islands and seeing the drawing, he had often thought of telling Kairi how he really felt about her. In fact, it was the first thing on his mind until they had read King Mickey's letter.

But for now, it would have to wait. Though his friends throughout the worlds, such as the Beast, Aladdin and Jack Skellington, seemed to find time for romance in the midst of a crisis, they didn't carry the enormous responsibility that came with being the bearer of the Keyblade.

Sora made a decision right then and there. When this upcoming crisis was resolved and he and Kairi managed to survive, he would tell her right then and there the truth: he loved her.

Sora then joined his friends on the docks. As they climbed into their boats and headed for their home island, they all thought about King Mickey's letter. But there was no use in worrying about it. If something was going to happen, it was going to happen and the best they could do right now was to get some sleep and begin preparations tomorrow.

_Author's note: Well, we're getting started. I promise you something epic featuring a large cast of characters from every corner that is Disney. Don't worry. They won't outshine Sora's story. He is the hero. If any of you have a request for an appearance from your favorite Disney character, please mention it in your reviews. I'll try to work it in. No Final Fantasy requests please though. The shocking truth is that I have never played any Final Fantasy game period. Sad but true._


	3. Ch 2: Rebirth of Evil

**Chapter 2: Rebirth of Evil**

**The World That Never Was**

Shrouded in eternal night, the Dark City that made up the majority of The World That Never Was lied in ruins. Much of it was ruined during the battle between Sora, Riku and the Superior of Organization XIII, Xemnas. Xemnas put up a tough fight against the two Keybearers. But the battle ended with Xemnas' demise and the end of the Organization.

The Organization's stronghold, the Castle That Never Was, once overlooked the Dark City. However, it too had been devastated in the battle. Now all that was left was a ruined shell that was currently the setting for a battle.

Laying siege to the castle ruins was an army of Heartless. The Heartless army was composed of mainly pureblood Heartless that were common to the worlds situated near the Realm of Darkness. Only a few emblem Heartless were in the fray.

Stationed in the castle, fending off the Heartless were the remnants of the Organization's army: the Nobodies. The bizarre white bodies without hearts were using all the power they had to defend against the black creatures. Perhaps it was out of some twisted loyalty to their destroyed masters that motivated them to defend the Castle's ruins.

The battle raged on with no apparent victor in sight. Though the Heartless were superior in number, they mainly attacked on instinct with no clear plan. The Nobodies, despite being outnumbered, were much more organized in their battle strategy and were able to outsmart the Heartless. However, in spite of both groups' strengths, neither seemed to overcome the other.

However, something odd was happening. While the Nobodies were fighting, something began to crawl out of the castle's rubble behind them. It pushed back the rubble and crawled out.

It was a Shadow Heartless that had apparently been buried when the castle collapsed. It had now found its way to the top. The Nobodies had their backs to it so they hadn't noticed it. Surprisingly, the Shadow made no move to attack.

Then the Shadow's antennae twitched. It sensed something and slowly turned around.

Standing before it was a Dusk Nobody. Like the Heartless, it too didn't seem interested in fighting alongside its kind. Strangely, it seemed to have an interest in the Shadow.

Slowly, the Shadow and the Dusk inched toward each other. They made no other move except to continue their approach. Finally, when they were close enough, they thrust out their arms and touched each other.

At the point of contact, the two of them were engulfed in an explosion of dark energy. This caught the attention of battling Heartless and Nobodies. They immediately stopped fighting and gazed in the direction of the mass of dark energy.

After a few moments, the dark energy subsided. The Shadow and the Dusk were gone. In their place was a single figure.

The figure looked like a tall man wearing clothing that was reminiscent of those worn by Organization XIII. However, the black cloak was made out of metal instead of cloth giving it the appearance of a suit of armor. The hood was still made of cloth and was attached to a black cape.

The Heartless and Nobodies regarded this newcomer for a moment. The man returned their gaze and then held out his hand. He motioned for them to come forward. In response, both groups approached him.

Soon, an entire congregation of Heartless and Nobodies had gathered around the man. `He chuckled.

"Cease your pointless struggles, my friends. The time has come for both Heartless and Nobody to finally come together. Under my leadership, we will plunge the universe into darkness and Kingdom Hearts will finally be ours," he announced.

The Heartless and Nobodies immediately began to move erratically. It was almost as if they were cheering the man who had apparently become their new leader.

"Now we have much to prepare for. You will all begin constructing a new castle. I have transmitted the specifications to your simple minds so you will follow them exactly. I must leave you now. Though all of you and your kind make exceptional minions, I do require others of the more complete variety. So I have to go recruit an abundance of allies. But I require an entourage. You four! Come with me!" he ordered.

From the group of creatures of darkness and creatures of in-between, two Armoured Knights and two Samurai approached the man. The Samurai positioned themselves in front of him with the Armoured Knights behind him.

"Perfect. Begin work on the castle, my friends. Take what you need from the rest of the buildings in the city if you have to. But I expect to see some progress when I return," said the man.

The man then held out his hand with the palm opened outward. Immediately, a circular portal of darkness appeared in front of him.

"Now it's time to pay a visit to the so-called Mistress of all Evil. She may not be pleased to see me. But I imagine once she hears what I have to offer, she will be very cooperative. Let's go," said the figure.

The figure moved toward the Dark Corridor with his entourage moving in step with him. They entered the Corridor which vanished once they were inside.

The remaining Heartless and Nobodies, former enemies now comrades, began to follow the figure's instructions. Some began to clear away the debris of the last castle while others salvaged usable pieces from it. Others began to scour the city and started to demolish buildings to gain what they needed.

The Heartless and the Nobodies of The World That Never Was had acquired a new leader that had succeeded in uniting them. In all likelihood, others would follow. Whoever he was, it was clear he was not up to anything that would be beneficial to the universe. And if he had Kingdom Hearts set as his goal like Maleficent, Xemnas and Ansem the Seeker of Darkness before him, the universe would be in grave danger.

_Author's Note: Dum-Dum-Dum! The seeds of the next great crisis have been planted. I hope I've been vague enough to keep you guessing as to who this guy is. If not, I guess I'm not as subtle as I thought. Anyway, keeping reading. It'll all become clear soon._


	4. Ch 3: The Forbidden Mountain

**Chapter 3: The Forbidden Mountain**

**Enchanted Dominion**

After some time had passed since leaving The World That Never Was, the man and his entourage stepped out of another Corridor of Darkness. They had arrived in another world and in a very foreboding part of the world.

He had arrived at a path leading upward to a frightening castle situated atop a high mountain. Though it was daytime, darkness covered the castle due to a perpetual storm cloud over it.

This was the Forbidden Mountain, domain to the evil witch Maleficent. Long ago, she had tried to revenge herself on King Stefan and Queen Leah by placing a curse on their daughter, Aurora. But her plans were thwarted by Aurora's betrothed, Prince Philip. Her plans foiled, Maleficent had abandoned her world to wreak havoc on other worlds with the Heartless.

"So this is where she went after the castle was destroyed. I guess she decided there was no place like home. Whatever the reason, I'm sure that she will be more than willing to participate in my plan once she hears it," said the man.

The man began the walk upward with the Heartless and the Nobodies in tow. After a long trek, they finally reached the castle's drawbridge. A pair of odd pig-like creatures armed with spears was standing guard on either side of the bridge.

Upon seeing the man and his entourage, they pointed their spears and shouted, "Halt! Who goes there?" In response, the Samurai pulled out their swords and the Armoured Knights brandished the swords that made up their arms.

But before they could fight, the man commanded, "Stand down. We are not here to fight."

The Heartless and Nobodies relented. But the two guards kept their spears pointed at them. The man walked toward them in a clam demeanor.

"State your business," demanded one of the guards. "I am here to see your mistress. I have a proposition for her," said the man.

"She isn't seeing nobody right now," said one of the guards. "Yeah. Ever since she returned, she has not been in the best of moods. She now just sits around on her throne doing nothing nowadays," said the other.

"I see. And what exactly caused this downward spiral to her current state?" inquired the man. "I think it was the loss of those things she used to use. They looked like those black things you have with you. Their name escapes me," said one of the guards.

"And I think it was also the cause of some boy who I think used a key for a weapon. How could someone beat her with a key? It shouldn't be possible," said the other guard.

"I am sorry to hear that. Fortunately for her, I have solutions to all her problems. If you let me in, I will do all I can to help her," said the man. "You really can do that?" asked the guards. "Absolutely," said the man.

"Okay, you can go in. We are all worried about her and if you can help her, we'd be very grateful," said one of the guards. "You'll find her in the throne room. Master Pete is with her trying to help. He is not succeeding," said the other. "Thank you both. You serve your mistress well," said the man.

One of the guards then turned around and shouted, "Raise the portcullis!" In response, the portcullis slowly rose up and opened the way into the castle. The guards then stood aside and allowed the man to walk toward the entrance with his Heartless and Nobodies.

Perched on the top of the entrance, watching the man enter the castle was a black raven. After taking a long look at the man, it flew off. After circling around the castle, it flew in through a window.

Meanwhile, in the throne room, two people were reflecting on the past and the future. One was none other than the Mistress of All Evil herself: Maleficent. She was sitting on a throne clutching her staff with a look of weariness on her face. Her only ally, Pete was currently pacing back and forth in front of her.

"Come on, Maleficent. We've been hiding out in your old castle for weeks. When are we going to start on a new plan to take over the worlds?" he asked. Maleficent gave no response.

"Okay. So we've lost control of the Heartless. So I'm currently the only ally you have. So we haven't found a decent place to set up shop. But there's really no reason to just give up, is there?" asked Pete.

"Just leave me in peace. I dismiss you from my service, Pete. You no longer have to do anything on my behalf. If you want to try and take over the worlds, be my guest. But leave me out of it," said Maleficent.

Pete could not believe his ears. Maleficent, who he had always looked up to, was giving up. She had always thought that she was the greatest evil power in the universe and nobody could stand in her way. But all the recent failures seem to have broken her evil spirit.

As tempting as it was for Pete to strike out on his own, he knew that he would never be able to pull it off. As a matter of fact, the Heartless scared him and he wasn't about to make any attempt to regain control of them without Maleficent waiting in the wings.

Just then, the raven flew into the throne room and landed on the top of Maleficent's staff. It immediately began to caw as if it was talking to Maleficent. The raven's caws apparently broke Maleficent out of her stupor as she began to listen intently to the bird.

"What? Are you sure, Diablo?" she asked. "What's that pigeon telling you, Maleficent?" asked Pete. "He's says that my foolish guards have allowed a strange man into the castle. And he's accompanied by Heartless and Nobodies," responded Maleficent.

"Heartless? Nobodies? What are we going to do? Do you think we should strike first while we have the chance?" asked Pete who was getting a little scared.

"If this fool wanted a battle with us, he would have used the Corridors of Darkness to appear right here. We shall see what the purpose of his intrusion is and then decide on the proper course of action," said Maleficent.

The three of them, Diablo the raven included, waited while watching the entrance to the throne room. It wasn't too long until the mysterious man entered.

The man gazed up and said, "Ah Maleficent! Mistress of All Evil! So this is where you have been since the fall of the Castle That Never Was. Apparently, things aren't going so well if you are reduced to brooding in your old lair."

"Hey hey! Don't patronize her if you know what's good for you!" said Pete. "Calm yourself, Pete. I'll handle this myself," said Maleficent rising from her throne and approaching the man.

"I'll admit you must either be a very courageous man to come here or you are very foolish. Why have you come?" she asked.

"I have come to you with a proposition you might like to hear," said the man. "Is that so? Well, unless you can give me back control of the Heartless or find a proper castle for me to use as a base of operations, I suggest you take your proposition and leave while you still can," said Maleficent.

"Actually Maleficent, that is exactly what I am offering. If you would just hear me out, I'm sure you will find what I have in mind will be quite pleasing," said the man.

Maleficent eyed the man suspiciously. Right now, she was very intolerant of intruders in her castle. But the man appeared to very insistent. Maleficent then went back to her throne and sat down. "I'm listening," she said.

"Tell me, Maleficent, what is it you desire the most?" asked the man. "What I want is power over the worlds. I desire the power of Kingdom Hearts. But because of that wretched boy Sora and his meddling friends, it slipped through my grasp. And with the loss of the Heartless in my service, it seems I shall never have it," said Maleficent.

"Never say never, Maleficent. There is a way for all of us to get what we want. All we have to do is join forces, seek allies from all over the universe and declare war on the Realm of Light," said the man.

"What makes you believe that we would join with you? Who are you exactly? You sound familiar. Lower your hood," ordered Pete. "As you wish," said the man as he reached for the sides of his hood and pulled it down.

Diablo began to caw madly. Maleficent and Pete's eyes opened in shock as they beheld the face of the man who they instantly recognized.

"Xemnas!" exclaimed Maleficent as she saw that the man's face was exactly the same as the presumed deceased leader of Organization XIII. The man smiled at their reactions.

"So it looks like those runts couldn't finish you after all," said Pete as he balled his fists ready for a fight. "Indeed. But apparently, you also failed to defeat them. And you have the gall to come here and mock me by proposing an alliance? Here's my answer for you," said Maleficent raising from her throne.

The witch then raised her staff and waved it in a throwing motion. A blast of lightning burst out from the top and streaked through the air toward the man.

"Guardian!" shouted the man. At his words, a black monster appeared out of nowhere and placed itself between the man and the lightning. Crossing its arms in front of its chest, it allowed the lightning to hit it. It absorbed the blast like it was nothing.

"Seem ol' Xemnas has learned as few new tricks," said Pete. "Or reacquired some old ones since ceasing to be a Heartless and a Nobody," said the man.

This statement caused a look of confusion to appear on Pete's face. It also had the effect of making Maleficent lower her staff. "What are you talking about, Xemnas?" she asked.

"I'm saying that I am no longer the Heartless who called himself Ansem the Seeker of Darkness. Nor am I the Nobody Xemnas, the Superior of Organization XIII. I am now using the name I discarded long ago. I am Xehanort, the Herald of Darkness," said the man.

"Well yippee for you. But that don't make you welcome here. So whatever you're selling Mr. Xehanort, pack it up 'cause we're not buying," said Pete pointing to the way out of the throne room.

"Actually, Pete, I'd like to hear what his story is," said Maleficent. "What?" asked Pete incredulously.

"This intrigues me. In all the time I used the Heartless, I have never heard of one actually reuniting with his Nobody," said Maleficent.

"How can we be sure he's telling the truth? And even if he is, so what? He's just like everyone else who is complete," said Pete.

"What would he have to gain by lying to us? Besides, I sense that he is far more than just an ordinary complete being. Now fetch him a seat so that he may tell us his story," said Maleficent.

Pete was about to object further. But he soon realized it was useless. Once Maleficent made up her mind, there was no changing it. Grumbling, he went off in search of a chair.

"Thank you, Maleficent. It is a very interesting story, I grant you and after you've heard it, you may find an alliance with me quite inviting," said Xehanort. "We will see, Xehanort. We will see," said Maleficent.

Maleficent then sat back on her throne with a smile on her face. Her initial despair was gone and she was looking forward to hear what the reborn villain had to say. 'Perhaps an alliance with this man may be quite convenient after all,' she thought.

_Author's note:_ _Oh yeah. Xehanort's back. I hope you weren't expecting his identity to remain secret for longer because truthfully, I don't know how I could have pulled it off beyond this chapter. Plus, it would have been a little annoying to refer to him as 'the man' for much longer. Also, sorry if I'm going a little overboard with the dialogue. But trust me. It's going to get pretty exciting in later chapters. This is just the setup that happens in all Kingdom Hearts games before all the action starts._


	5. Ch 4: The Herald's Tale & Proposition

**Chapter 4: The Herald's Tale and Proposition**

Awhile later, Pete arrived back in the throne room. He was dragging a large wooden chair in front of him. It apparently was very heavy as he was struggling to move it to the front of Maleficent's throne.

"Would you please give him a hand?" Xehanort beckoned his Heartless and Nobodies. The Samurai and the Armored Knights then moved toward Pete.

"I don't need help from nobody. Especially Heartless and Nobodies!" shouted Pete. But the four creatures paid no heed to his words and immediately relieved him of his burden. They moved the chair easily with no struggle and sat it in front of Maleficent's throne.

"Thank you, my loyal servants. And thank you, Pete for fetching this comfortable chair," said Xehanort taking a seat. Pete just grumbled at the fact that he was shown up by Xehanort's minions. "Now, Xehanort, if you wouldn't mind, please share your story of how you regained your complete form," said Maleficent.

"Gladly, Maleficent. Well, you already know my Nobody Xemnas. But you never formally met my Heartless, the one who called himself Ansem the Seeker of Darkness. But believe me, you have encountered him," said Xehanort.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Maleficent. "When you met him, he possessed the boy Riku. Within Riku's body, he was the one who created the Keyblade that could open people's hearts. He was the one who opened your heart to the darkness with it," said Xehanort.

"I thought he was acting rather strangely after he lost the real Keyblade to Sora. So he was the under the influence of a powerful Heartless," said Maleficent.

"Believe me, he was only trying to help you when he plunged that Keyblade into your heart to give you power. It was just unfortunate that Sora was still able to defeat you even in your powerful dragon form," said Xehanort.

"Yes, it was unfortunate. But thanks to Diablo and the memories of those foolish fairies, I returned. It doesn't really matter anymore right now except getting revenge on Sora for destroying me in the first place. But you still haven't told me how you became complete," said Maleficent as she stroked Diablo.

"I am getting to that. When Sora and his friends defeated him at Kingdom Hearts, Ansem was driven into the depths of Riku's heart. Ansem remained within Riku throughout the events at Castle Oblivion and the battle against Organization XIII. Though Riku had assumed the form of Ansem as a side effect of his attempt to gain strength, he never regained control of the boy. And finally, when Ansem the Wise's machine exploded, it purged the remains of the Heartless from Riku and returned him to normal," said Xehanort. "And then?" asked Pete.

"Unbeknownst to Sora, the King and their friends, the remains of Ansem were not destroyed. However, it was severely weakened so the only way it could continue to exist was in the form of a Shadow. Though it retained its sense of self, it was no longer the powerful Heartless it once was and was buried when the castle came down," said Xehanort.

"Interesting tale, Xehanort. But what about your other half? Your Nobody, Xemnas?" asked Maleficent.

"Nearly the same thing happened to him as well, Maleficent. After Xemnas was defeated at the hands of Sora and Riku, he did not cease to exist. But like Ansem, he was weakened so he could only reconstitute himself in the form of a Dusk. Now the Shadow that was Ansem and the Dusk that was Xemnas have come together. And the result is sitting right before you," said Xehanort.

"Well, that was an interesting story, Xehanort. But you still haven't answered the biggest question," said Pete. "And that is?" asked Xehanort.

"Why should we give a hoot? So your Heartless and Nobody came back together. So what? The way I see it, you were more powerful separated. Now that you're whole, you're no different from anyone else," said Pete.

"Ah Pete, that's where you're wrong. My reunion has bestowed me with powers far beyond than when I was separate," said Xehanort. "Really? And what kind of powers would those be?" asked Maleficent.

"My abilities are far too numerous to mention at this time, Maleficent. They are best shown through demonstration which you will see if you join me in my plan," said Xehanort.

"Ah yes. Your plan. Tell me what you hope to accomplish," said Maleficent. Xehanort chuckled and said, "I plan to create a Kingdom Hearts like no other before it."

Pete huffed in response. "Just what I thought. Your plan is no better that the Organization's. And if you have any memories of your Nobody, you'd know how well that worked out," he said.

"Indeed, my Nobody and his Organization did have a similar plan. However, my methods are much different. We will start by launching a campaign of conquest throughout the worlds. With the aid of the Heartless and Nobodies, we will gain control of the worlds without taking their hearts and move them closer to the darkness. Once we have conquered the majority of the universe, then we will take the hearts of the worlds and create Kingdom Hearts!" exclaimed Xehanort as he stood up from his chair.

"Hmm. And what then?" asked Maleficent. "With my abilities, I will fill Kingdom Hearts with darkness. And through its connection to every heart in the universe, all hearts will succumb to darkness save for those I choose to spare. All light will die and a new age of darkness shall begin. But I cannot do this alone nor do I wish to. There are dark beings throughout the universe who I wish to share in the birth of a new universe. So what do you say, Maleficent? Are you and Pete in or out?" asked Xehanort.

While Pete still looked skeptical at Xehanort's plan, Maleficent looked thoughtful. It had been a dream of hers since discovering the powers of the Heartless to rule all worlds. And now, Xehanort was offering her the means and opportunity.

"You make an interesting proposition, Xehanort. How can I resist? You have my support and Pete's as well," said the witch. Pete's jaw dropped in shock. Xehanort smiled in delight.

"Excellent. You will not regret this, Maleficent. As dusk falls on this current age of light, a dawn of an age of darkness begins. Now I must leave you for the time being to check up on our new base of operations in The World That Never Was. I shall return for you shortly. Do me a favor and gather up your minions to bring along with you," said Xehanort.

"Now why do you want us to bring them? They're morons! Why, Maleficent told me that in the sixteen years they were searching for the Princess Aurora, they searched for a baby!" yelled Pete.

"I agree with you, Pete. That is quite unintelligent. But I wish to add a little variety to our army. The Keyblade bearers are used to fighting Heartless and Nobodies. Adding some unexpected surprises to throw them off will be beneficial to our cause. Farewell for now," said Xehanort as he opened up a Dark Corridor and left with his entourage.

Pete looked like he was on the verge of a temper tantrum. He turned to Maleficent and said, "I can't believe we're supposed to work with that guy! What is the matter with you, Maleficent?"

"Nothing in the least, Pete. Xehanort may be powerful. But everyone has a weakness. We will work with him for now until we discover it. And once success is ours, we will dispose of him and rule the new universe alone," said Maleficent as she began to cackle.

Pete then smiled. "Now that's something I can agree with!" he said joining in the laughter.

The two villains continued to laugh in anticipation of what was to come. For now, they would go along with Xehanort's plan. It seemed to be the best way to go about if they wished to conquer the universe. And when the opportunity arose, Xehanort would fall and they would rule.

_Author's Note: Sorry about all the dialogue. But believe me, this will be the last long one for a bit. I believe I've done enough plot exposition so now it is time to jump into the action. And isn't that just like Maleficent? She wants it all to herself. But she may find it hard to depose Xehanort once she finds out just how powerful he is in later chapters._


	6. Ch 5: Night Terrors

**Chapter 5: Night Terrors**

**Dive to the Heart**

In a place with darkness on all sides, Sora stood on a large platform. The platform looked like it was covered in stained glass and it had pictures of himself as well as those most important to him. There were pictures of Kairi, Riku, King Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy as well as all his friends from around the universe. Sora smiled as he gazed at the image of his friends.

All of a sudden, the glowing platform's lights went out and Sora was completely surrounded by darkness. He glanced around worriedly. "Hello! Is anyone here?" he called into the dark.

"Sora!" called a group of familiar voices from behind him. Sora turned around and a smile came to his face.

Standing in a pool of light was the trio from Disney Castle. King Mickey, Donald and Goofy were all waving to him. Sora waved back at them. But then, his expression of happiness turned to one of terror as he saw what was coming behind them from the darkness.

Emerging from the darkness with a wicked grin on his face was Pete. And behind him came something even more horrifying: Maleficent in her dragon form. Her mouth was open wide as she prepared for the inevitable breath of fire.

"Look out!" shouted Sora. The trio turned around and saw the oncoming attack. They all dodged Maleficent's attack and drew their weapons. They launched into a fight with the dragon and Pete.

"Hang on, guys! I'm coming!" shouted Sora as he began to run toward them. But suddenly, more pools of light emerged from the darkness each showing something that made Sora even more frightened.

He now saw his friends from around the universe. They were in battle with the villains from their worlds. And to Sora's shock, they were losing.

Clayton knocked Tarzan down on his chest and held his gun at his head. Jafar in his genie form held Aladdin in his hand and was crushing him. Oogie Boogie had Jack Skellington pinned down and was smothering him with insects. Ursula was squeezing Ariel in her tentacles. Hector Barbossa sliced his sword along Jack Sparrow's shoulder and he winced in pain. Sark tossed his disc into Tron's head.

It was more than Sora could bear. All his friends were in trouble and he didn't know who to help first. Then a sinister voice from behind him rang out.

"They are all important to you, aren't they Sora? But are they more important than her?" it asked.

Sora almost didn't turn around afraid of what he might see. But he turned around. Immediately, he almost wished he hadn't.

Standing in the biggest pool of light were the members of Organization XIII. It wasn't the entire roster though. Sora did not see Axel or Roxas which came as no surprise since they were probably the only good Nobodies in the Organization. However, sitting on her knees before them wrapped in chains was Kairi. The Organization members gave sinister smiles toward Sora.

"Sora, help me!" cried Kairi. Xemnas, who was holding the chains, jerked them and pulled Kairi roughly toward him.

Now Sora was torn even further. All around him were friends in jeopardy. Even worse, the one he loved the most was in the clutches of the most insidious Nobodies in the history of the universe. But could he really sacrifice the others for her? And even if he didn't, who would he save?

Not knowing who to save, Sora decided to do the only thing he could do. Concentrating, he began to summon his Keyblade.

But to his shock, the Keyblade didn't come. Sora kept trying and trying. But for some reason, the Keyblade wasn't responding to his call.

"Looking for this?" asked a familiar voice. Sora turned around and saw Riku. He was holding the Kingdom Key in his hand.

"Riku! You found it!" Sora exclaimed happily. He then held out his hands as he expected Riku to throw it to him. But he didn't.

Riku began to laugh evilly. And as he laughed, he began to change. He grew taller and his face changed features until he was no longer Riku. Sora now beheld the image of Xehanort's Heartless, Ansem.

Ansem tossed the Kingdom Key away and said, "You think you can defeat the darkness, Sora? You can't even comprehend its true power. You can fight all you want. But in the end, darkness conquers all!"

At the end of Ansem's words, Sora felt something grab his arms. He looked and saw Shadows holding his arms.

Ansem backed away as an immense creature began to rise from the ground. It had a massive muscular body with strong arms and a heart-shaped hole in its chest. Its head had glowing yellow eyes and a face wrapped in tendrils. Sora knew this creature well. It was a Darkside, the Heartless that destroyed the Destiny Islands shortly after he received the Keyblade.

Sora struggled to free himself from the Shadows' grip. But they held on tightly. Sora could only watch helplessly as the Darkside pulled its arm back for a punch.

As the Darkside pulled back, Sora heard laughter all around him. He recognized the voices of Ansem, Maleficent, the Organization and all the other dark beings he had encountered.

Finally, the Darkside threw its fist toward Sora. Helpless, Sora closed his eyes before the deadly impact came.

_Author's note: Cliffhanger! Keep reading!_


	7. Ch 6: Reflections of Sora

**Chapter 6: Reflections of Sora**

**Destiny Islands**

Sora woke up gasping for breath. He immediately checked his surroundings and found that he was no longer surrounded in darkness. He was in his bed in his room in his house on the islands. There was no Darkside and no villains anywhere. He was all alone.

'Whoa! What a nightmare!' thought Sora as he got up. He walked over to the window and sat down. In the distance, he saw the island where he and his friends always played.

Viewing the island from his window reminded him of that fateful night when the Destiny Islands were destroyed by the Heartless. It was even more disheartening when he learned of Riku's role in the destruction. Though he had forgiven Riku, it was still sad to think about it.

'I need some time to think before we start training,' said Sora as he began to get dressed. Soon, dressed in his special battle clothes, he left his room and began his journey to the island.

After one quick boat ride, Sora arrived on the island. He then made his way to the part of the island where he and Riku used to have footraces. It was also the place where they had built their raft when they were planning to explore other worlds. They never would have guessed that the raft wouldn't be the thing they would use to see those worlds.

Sora reminisced about the days before he had even heard of the Keyblade or the Heartless or the Nobodies. Things had seemed so much simpler back then. And with the onset of another crisis looming, he found himself wishing that the Keyblade had never chose him.

But as he thought more, he realized that though being the Keyblade master had caused trouble for him, it also brought much good. If it weren't for the Keyblade choosing him, he would have never met Donald, Goofy, King Mickey or any of his wonderful friends from other worlds. 'I guess you've got to take the bad with the good,' he thought.

Still, that nightmare he had made him uneasy. Before the Keyblade showed up the first time, he had a similar dream although it was a little more optimistic as it taught him how to fight. If the forces behind the Keyblade were trying to tell him something, he was completely in the dark.

'Did that dream mean I'm destined to fail all my friends when it really counts? Or is it showing just what I stand to lose if I do fail?' thought Sora. He really wished he had the answer.

"Sora!" called a voice from down the beach. Sora looked up and saw Riku and Kairi walking toward him. "Hey guys!" he called as he ran to join them.

"Your mom told us you left for the island on your own," said Kairi. "Couldn't wait to get started without us, huh?" asked Riku.

"I just needed some time to think on some stuff before we started training," said Sora. "Really? What kind of things?" asked Kairi.

Sora then told them about the dream he had. Their eyes opened wide in shock as he described the horrible things he had seen. Once he had finished, they became sympathetic.

"That must have been awful," said Kairi taking Sora's hands into hers. "Awful doesn't even begin to describe it. I had to watch my friends fall at the hands at their enemies, you in the clutches of the Organization and Riku turning into Ansem," said Sora.

Riku laid a comforting hand on Sora's shoulder. "That's pretty harsh. But I wouldn't worry too much about it, Sora. Things are going to be different this time. We may not know what's coming. But you don't have to face them alone. Kairi and I will be at your side as will the King, Donald and Goofy. Trust me. We'll get through this," said Riku.

Sora allowed himself to smile. The dream was still fresh in his mind. But the uneasiness had ceased thanks to the reassuring words of his two best friends.

"So we training or what?" asked Riku. "Yeah! Let's get going!" said Kairi. "All right. Keyblades out!" commanded Sora.

The three friends held out their hands and called out the names of their Keyblades. "Kingdom Key!" shouted Sora. "Way to the Dawn!" shouted Riku. "Destiny's Embrace!" shouted Kairi.

In response, the friends' Keyblades appeared in their hands. It gave them a feeling of pride to be holding their ultimate weapons against the darkness in their hands.

"Okay, students, let the training begin. Come at me with all you've got," said Sora.

"Ooh you may regret that, Keyblade master," said Kairi as she gave a sly look to Riku who returned it. Then they both charged Sora.

The three friends launched into a three-way fencing match. All of them exchanged parries, blocks and thrusts. Their training had begun and with whatever threat was on the horizon, they would need all the preparation they could get.


	8. Ch 7: The Castle of Light's Doom

**Chapter 7: The Castle of Light's Doom**

**The World That Never Was**

In the darkness of The World That Never Was, things had changed drastically. The Dark City was in the process of being completely demolished to make room for Xehanort's new castle.

The castle was immense. It was black in color and seemed to have elements of other castles throughout the universe. Its towers were decorated with domes similar to the ones of the Sultan's palace in Agrabah and there were also steam pipes like those in Hollow Bastion in Radiant Garden. Clearly, Xehanort was making a derisive parody of castles throughout the Realm of Light.

Much of the main building had been finished. However, the Heartless and Nobodies were still hard at work. It seemed that this castle would continue to grow until it covered all of The World That Never Was.

Standing at the front of the entrance to the castle was Xehanort. He had a smile on his face. Clearly, he was pleased with what the Heartless and Nobodies had created.

Behind him stood Maleficent and Pete. Pete's jaw hung open as he took in the immense sight. Maleficent showed a little more restraint. But the small smile on her face showed that she was impressed.

They were not alone. Diablo the raven was perched on Maleficent's staff. Behind them was an army of Maleficent's goons. They looked happy at the look of their new home.

"Well, what do you think, Maleficent? Is it to your liking?" asked Xehanort. "Most impressive, Xehanort. I never thought such a castle could exist. This will be the perfect place to rule the universe from. However there is something that could be added to make it even better," said Maleficent.

"Oh? And what would that be?" asked Xehanort. "A forest of thorns encircling it," said Maleficent.

Xehanort chuckled and said, "An excellent idea. You can provide that once most of the construction has been completed."

"Sure looks roomy. You expecting a lot of guests, Xehanort?" asked Pete. "Actually, I am. Very soon, we'll have allies from all over the universe joining our cause. I have already sent Heartless emissaries to bring a few familiar friends here. By force if necessary. But once they hear of our plan, they'll find themselves unable to resist. Now shall we go inside?" asked Xehanort.

Both Pete and Maleficent nodded in agreement. Xehanort moved toward the large doors of the castle. They were stylized after the Door to Darkness. With a wave of his hand, the doors slowly opened. Xehanort then turned to his allies and said, "Welcome to the Castle of Light's Doom."

Maleficent and Pete led the army of goons past Xehanort and through the doors. Once they were all inside, Xehanort followed and the doors closed behind him.

The foyer of the castle was right in the center of a mess of corridors. They led in all directions while some led to staircases that led upward and downward. The only part of the foyer that didn't lead to a corridor or staircase was an empty alcove with a crystal on a pedestal next to it. All around, Heartless and Nobodies were traveling while carrying building materials to perform construction in other parts of the castle.

"This castle has everything we'll ever need for our conquest of the universe. From barracks to a kitchen to the basement where my laboratory is, this castle lacks nothing. Now we must make our way to the observatory so kindly send your minions to the barracks," said Xehanort.

"Which way is that?" asked Maleficent. Xehanort pointed to one of the passageways leading to the west.

"You are all dismissed so get out of our sight," ordered Maleficent. "Yes, mistress," said the goons as they marched off in the direction that Xehanort had indicated.

"So which way in this maze do we go to get to this observatory?" asked Pete. "Those are just for the Heartless, the Nobodies and any other help we have. We, however, take a different mode of transportation. And it's much more efficient," said Xehanort as he walked over to the alcove.

Xehanort waved his hand over the crystal that was next to the alcove. In response, a cage-like carriage appeared in the alcove. A door slid open to allow access inside it.

"I designed this after the transport system within Hollow Bastion. It'll take you anywhere in the castle at your command. So all aboard," said Xehanort.

Maleficent and Pete walked into the carriage with Xehanort behind them. Once he was inside, the doors slid shut and Xehanort stated, "To the observatory!"

The carriage immediately rose up and entered into a long shaft of darkness. As it made its journey to the observatory, it changed directions several times. But the most common direction they took was up.

As they continued their ascent, Pete asked, "Xehanort, you mentioned you were sending Heartless to fetch some old acquaintances of ours, right?" "That is correct," said Xehanort.

"Well, I hope you didn't send out too many because as far as we know, the only members of our posse who didn't bite the big one were Hades and Captain Hook. I know Old Flame Top is immortal and can't die no matter how much abuse he takes. But that one-handed pirate's whereabouts are still unknown. For his sake, I hope that crocodile didn't get him. Now I may not be too good at math but I do know that doesn't add up to much," said Pete.

"I am aware of that, Pete. But with the darkness on our side, the laws of life and death mean nothing. We have a good example with Maleficent here and being destroyed once did not stop Ursula and Oogie Boogie from terrorizing their worlds again. I am currently on working on our deceased friends' return to our ranks," said Xehanort.

Moments later, the carriage stopped and the doors slid open. Xehanort and his associates disembarked into a whole new room.

This room was completely dark with the exception of the domed ceiling. It was dotted with small white lights that resembled stars in the sky. In the center of the room was a large pedestal with images of Heartless carved into it.

"In this room, we can look in on any world in the universe. Now how about we look in on our least favorite Keybearer? Destiny Islands!" commanded Xehanort with a wave of his hand.

From one of the lights in the ceiling, a beam of light shot out of it and struck the pedestal. A glowing energy orb arose from it and filled with images of the Destiny Islands.

"So this is where Sora and his friends are from. How quaint," said Maleficent as she, Pete and Xehanort gazed into the orb.

The orb showed images as if it was flying through the islands. It passed through the town, over the sea and finally came to rest on a beach on the island where Sora and his friends played. "There you are," said Xehanort.

The orb now showed images of Sora, Riku and Kairi. They were still training with their Keyblades and they were laughing as they had a little fun in trying to defeat one another.

"Look at them. Typical brats. They have three of the most powerful weapons in the universe and they're just playing around," said Pete.

"Use your eyes and your head, Pete. This is no game. They are doing serious training," said Xehanort.

Pete's eyes opened wide. "Training? You mean they already know about us? Who tipped them off?" he asked. "I suspect it was that meddling king. When will he ever stop poking his nose into our affairs?" asked Maleficent.

"Apparently, the king has told them something that has them training. But I don't think he's aware of my return. Either way, this is most fortunate. It is chance for me to show you both some of my new abilities. So let's see if their training pays off by sending a few opponents to their island," said Xehanort.

Pete allowed himself to smile. "Ooh, we're sending Heartless to attack them? Great idea! Let's send a Trickmaster! No! How about a Dark Thorn! No! A Stealth Sneak! Or even better! A Behemoth!" he said as he listed off various types of powerful Heartless.

"I have already sent a squadron to the islands," said Xehanort. "That fast? No way!" exclaimed Pete.

"It's true. One of my new attributes is a connection to every Heartless and Nobody in the universe. With a thought, I can send them wherever I want. So now all we have to do is wait for them to arrive and then enjoy the show," said Xehanort.

Pete rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "Oh this is going to be sweet! I wish I had some munchies. It's hard to enjoy a show like this without a snack," he said.

Maleficent rolled her eyes in annoyance at Pete's immature antics. But though she didn't show it, she too was looking forward to what Xehanort was about to do once their troops had arrived on the islands. Whatever it was, she was sure it was going to be positively evil. And that's just how she liked it to be.

_Author's note: Beware Sora, Riku and Kairi! Xehanort's sending baddies after you! I hope I did a good job in describing the new castle._


	9. Ch 8: Unexpected Guests

**Chapter 8: Unexpected Guests**

**Destiny Islands**

While Sora, Riku and Kairi were training on one side of the island, another trio was doing something similar on the other side. However, while Sora and his friends were preparing for battle, this group of friends was just having fun.

Tidus, Wakka and Selphie were currently having a little sparring match. It had been a long time since the three of them were having battles like this. Awhile ago, Wakka and Tidus became too busy with a ball game they had invented and left poor Selphie all alone.

But today, it seemed like old times as Tidus waved his stick, Selphie whirled her jump rope and Wakka threw his blitzballs as they attempted to defeat one another. They continued to mess around until Tidus stopped.

"Hey guys! Check that out!" he called while pointing toward the shoreline. Selphie and Wakka stopped and looked in the direction Tidus was pointing.

Strange glowing sparkles were gathering near the shore. The three friends gazed at them in a mix of curiosity and awe.

"It's beautiful," said Selphie as she began to walk toward the sparkles. But Wakka grabbed her by the shoulders and held her back.

"Yes it is I'll give you that. But we'd better keep our distance until we know what it is. It may be dangerous," he said.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure we can handle it. After all, nobody can beat the three of us," said Tidus as he swung his stick to illustrate his point.

"Except for Sora and Riku if my memory is correct," said Wakka. "Oh yeah," said Tidus somewhat disappointedly.

The sparkling light began to grow brighter until it exploded into a large burst of light. The trio shielded their eyes. When the light dimmed down, they all uncovered their eyes which then opened wide at the unusual sight that had appeared.

On the beach now was one of the last things one would expect to find: a metal bed complete with a mattress, pillows and sheets. Sitting on the bed was none other than King Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy along with Mickey's loyal dog Pluto.

"Gawrsh, Your Majesty, I've got to hand it to ya. Traveling on this bed is fun, ahyuck!" said Goofy.

"Thanks, Goofy. It certainly is an interesting way to travel between worlds. It also helps us avoid fights with those Heartless ships in space," said Mickey.

"Aw I preferred the Gummi Ship. It was faster and it was fun knocking those Heartless ships out of the sky," said Donald.

"I understand, Donald. But you know the Gummi Ship won't be ready until the new engineers are done tuning it up. So until then, we'll have to use the bed to get around," said Mickey.

Then Pluto began to bark. Mickey turned in the direction the dog was barking at and noticed Tidus, Wakka and Selphie. They all had astonished looks on their faces.

"Oh! It seems we have a bit of an audience, fellas," said Mickey as he climbed off the bed and walked toward the trio with Donald and Goofy behind him.

"Hiya! By any chance would you be friends of Sora, Riku and Kairi?" asked Mickey. "Uh yeah. We know them. But who are you guys?" asked Tidus.

"Oh. I guess we really should introduce ourselves. I'm King Mickey Mouse of Disney Castle and these are my friends Chief Wizard Donald Duck and Goofy, Captain of the Royal Knights. And of course, there's my loyal pal Pluto," said Mickey indicating each of his companions.

Realizing they were in the presence of royalty, the three friends immediately bowed. Mickey laughed.

"Oh there's no need for such formality, kids. Outside my palace, I just wish to be treated like any other person," said Mickey.

"Either way, it's very nice to meet you, Your Majesty. I'm Wakka and this is Tidus and Selphie," said Wakka as he gestured to his friends. Selphie and Tidus waved in response.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you," said Goofy. "Yeah. But we really can't stay to talk. Have you seen Sora, Riku and Kairi?" asked Donald.

"Oh yeah. They're over on the other side of the island. They're playing with these odd weapons that look like large keys. That's a pretty funny design when you think about it," said Selphie.

"We'll go right there and see them then. Thanks for your help," said Mickey as he turned around and began to walk away. Donald, Goofy and Pluto followed him.

Before they were out of sight, Goofy called back, "Keep an eye on the bed! We'll need it to get where we're goin'!" "Okay!" Tidus called in response.

"And don't touch the bed knobs!" Donald added in. "All right!" called Wakka though he found that request to be a little strange.

"Boy, I don't know where Sora and the others went when they were gone. But they sure made some strange friends," said Selphie. The boys nodded in agreement as they all took positions to guard the mysterious bed.

On the other side of the island, the three Keybearers continued with their practicing. Kairi thrust her Keyblade at Sora who responded with a block.

"Too slow, Kairi. I saw that a mile away," he said playfully. "Hey Sora! Watch your back!" Kairi responded with a smile.

"Huh?" asked Sora. But before he knew what was happening, Riku sliced his Keyblade at Sora's legs. Sora fell over and landed on his rear.

"The Keyblade master has fallen! Long live the new Keyblade master, Riku!" announced Riku as held his Keyblade high and pumping his fist into the air.

"You know that was a lucky shot," said Sora. "Hey, I'll take what I can get," said Riku.

"Here. Let me help you up," said Kairi reaching out her hand. Sora took it and immediately his heart skipped a beat at Kairi's touch as she helped him up.

"So Sora, what do you think? Think I'm good enough to fight?" asked Kairi. "Well, your moves are a little obvious and that makes it easier to block or evade them. But with a little more training, no Heartless or Nobody alive would stand a chance against you," said Sora.

"So I won't be in the way, will I?" asked Kairi recalling how Sora wanted to keep her out of the battle at Hollow Bastion. Sora chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

"You're going to do fine, Kairi. Isn't she, Riku?" asked Sora. But Riku didn't answer.

"Riku?" asked Sora turning around. What he saw was Riku staring ahead with a shocked look on his face. And he also saw the thing that was shocking Riku: a Corridor of Darkness.

'Oh no! Not here! Not again!' thought Sora as he gazed at the Corridor. Seeing the Heartless' preferred method of transportation brought back a lot of bad memories. The last time the Heartless had shown up on the Destiny Islands, they destroyed it.

"Looks like we're getting some on-the-job training now, guys," said Riku as held out his Keyblade. Sora and Kairi ran up to his side with their Keyblades out. They all waited for whatever the Corridor of Darkness had to offer.

After a few moments, familiar black creatures began to crawl out of the Corridor. To the three Keybearers' surprise, it wasn't what they had expected. The Heartless that had shown up was a group of fifteen Shadows. "Whew! I was worried there for a second," said Sora.

"Yeah. They're just Shadows. They're certainly not the weakest type of Heartless. But compared to others, they're not the most threatening," said Riku.

"Well, since there are fifteen of them, how about you take the five on the right, Sora takes the five in the middle and I'll take the five on the left?" asked Kairi. "Sounds good to me," said Riku.

But before they could move, something else came out of the Corridor. This time, it was a cause for concern. Joining the Shadows were fifteen Dusks.

"Nobodies? And Heartless? Working together?" exclaimed Sora in confusion. "That's very unusual," said Riku.

"What does it mean?" asked Kairi. "Maybe this is part of what the King warned us about. The Heartless and Nobodies are dangerous enough separately. But united, they could be an even greater threat," said Riku.

"It doesn't matter. The last time these things showed up here, we lost this island. I'm not going to let it happen again. Come on guys! Let's show these monsters that they're not welcome here!" said Sora angrily as he charged toward the invaders with his Keyblade out.

Riku and Kairi were taken aback at Sora's sudden outburst of anger. But they joined him in the charge. The battle had begun.

Sora swung his Keyblade at the nearest Shadow. It immediately shifted into its flat form and began to crawl across the beach. Sora began to stab his Keyblade into the sand in an effort to destroy the Shadow. But it eluded him at every turn. "Boy this one's fast. But it's not going to get away," he said as he continued to attack.

Suddenly, another Shadow swiped Sora from behind with its claws. Sora gave a cry out in pain and clutched his side.

'That one hurt a little more than usual. Normally, I'm able to shrug off the pain of a Shadow's attack,' thought Sora as he tried to ignore the pain and continue the battle.

Riku, in the meantime, had chosen to attack the Dusks. With his Keyblade, he swung at one and made a direct hit in the head.

However, the Dusk didn't seem to even notice. It acted as if Riku hadn't even hit it and began to jab at Riku with its long pointed arms. Riku backed away while blocking the Dusk's attack with his Keyblade.

"Is it just me or are these guys a little tougher than normal?" asked Riku. "Not only tougher but faster and stronger as well," said Sora as he rolled away from the claws of another Shadow.

Then they heard a familiar and welcome sound. It was the sound that was made when a Heartless burst. The boys turned and saw that Kairi had succeeded in destroying a Shadow.

"All right, Kairi! You got one!" exclaimed Sora. "I wouldn't celebrate yet, Sora. That one took nearly thirty hits before it finally gave in and there's still more left," said Kairi as she moved on to fight a nearby Dusk.

As Sora avoided a swipe from a Dusk and blocked the attack of a Shadow, he started to think. 'What is happening? These are the most basic types of Heartless and Nobody that we've fought and we're having this much trouble with them? This doesn't make sense,' he wondered as he continued to battle.

**The World That Never Was**

In the observatory of the Castle of Light's Doom, Xehanort and his cohorts were watching the battle. Xehanort was positively delighted as he watched the three Keybearers struggle. Maleficent looked impressed while Pete gazed in surprise.

"Whoa! How did those weakling Heartless and Nobodies get so strong?" asked Pete. "You can thank Sora and his friends for their newfound strength, Pete and me for giving the Heartless the ability to gain that strength," said Xehanort.

"What does that mean? Are you saying that Sora and his friends are strengthening them somehow?" asked Maleficent.

"Indeed they are. I can read their hearts and right now, the sight of the creatures that destroyed their island is causing great fear in them. In Sora's case, it's also stirring up anger. And that is giving the Heartless their unusual strength," said Xehanort.

"So the Heartless gain strength if the one they're fighting is mad?" asked Pete. "Not just anger. Any kind of negative emotion, one that stirs the darkness in one's heart, can give the Heartless strength. Anger, fear, sorrow, envy, greed; all are now a source of power for our cause," explained Xehanort.

"And the Nobodies?" asked Maleficent. "If a Heartless has a Nobody counterpart, the gain in strength will bestow onto it as well. That's why I sent that specific group to the Destiny Islands. Each of those Shadows and Dusks are halves of the same person. And thanks to the emotions of the Keybearers, they are becoming formidable opponents," said Xehanort.

Pete laughed. It was just too good to be true. Sora and his friends were about to be defeated by, according to all accounts, enemies that they should have been able to defeat normally.

"I've got to hand it to you, Xehanort. These new abilities you have are pretty handy to have around," said Pete.

"Oh but I'm not finished yet. Let's allow the Keybearers to struggle a little more. Then I will engage another new trick I have. A little something I call Darkness Evolution," said Xehanort with a laugh.

The situation looked pretty grim. Sora and his friends currently had enough trouble as it is with the empowered Shadows and Dusks. But it appeared that Xehanort had something in store that would make things even worse.

_Author's note: He's not making it easy for them, is he? Also, it was my first battle scene and they are hard to write down so forgive me if I may be a little sloppy. Also, did you get the Disney reference? You'd have to be a little dim if you missed this. My offer still stands. If you have something from Disney that you would like to have a world in my fanfiction or even just a cameo, please tell me. In fact, I may have already even planned it without having to be asked. Stay tuned!_


	10. Ch 9: Darkness Evolution

_Author's Note: Thanks for reading, fans! Now we're going to be bouncing back and forth a bit between worlds in this chapter. I hope it won't jar the story too much so bear with me._

**Chapter 9: Darkness Evolution**

**Destiny Islands**

Along the beach of the Destiny Islands, the group from Disney Castle walked on toward the cove. As they walked, they admired the scenery of the serene islands.

"This place sure is nice. Wish we'd spent a little more time here before we left last time," said Goofy. "You said it, Goofy. This place would make a good vacation spot," said Donald.

"We can think about vacations later, fellas. Right now, we've got to get Sora and the gang and be on our way. The fate of the worlds depends on it," said Mickey seriously. "Yes, Your Majesty," said Donald and Goofy with a little disappointment in their voices.

Mickey then turned toward his friends and said, "But I do agree with you. I wouldn't mind spending a few days here myself."

Suddenly, Pluto stopped in his tracks. Mickey took notice of his dog's behavior and stopped himself. "What is it boy?" asked the mouse.

Pluto then started to growl. He then broke into a run along the beach while barking wildly.

"What's gotten into him?" asked Goofy. "Something must be wrong. Weapons out!" commanded Mickey.

Immediately, Donald took out his magic staff and Goofy brought out his shield. Mickey held out his hand and summoned the Kingdom Key D. They charged after Pluto.

It wasn't long before they had caught up with Pluto. He had stopped and was now growling at something ahead. Mickey, Donald and Goofy looked and saw Sora and the others in the midst of a battle.

"Oh my gosh. They're here already?" asked Mickey. "Hold on, guys and girl! We're coming!" shouted Goofy as they all charged into battle.

After fending off an attack from a Dusk, Sora looked over and saw their friends from Disney Castle running toward them. His mouth broke into a wide grin. "Great timing, guys! We could use a little help here!" he called to them.

"You know, I never believed in the cavalry until now," said Riku as he finally managed to finish off a Dusk. "Friends show up when they're needed, Riku," said Goofy as plowed into a pair of Shadows with his shield.

"I think what this battle needs is a little Thunder!" shouted Donald as he raised his staff into the air. A lightning bolt shot into the sky and then several bolts rained down on the Heartless and Nobodies. A few Shadows were destroyed. "All right!" shouted Donald.

Sora, however, was shocked and not by the lightning. "How did you do that, Donald?" asked Sora as he continued to fight.

"What are you talking about, Sora? You know that the Shadows always go down easily when hit by the Thunder spell," said Donald.

"But they've gotten so tough. So tough that it nearly took Kairi over thirty hits to take down one of them," said Sora as he slashed at a Dusk. To his surprise, it vanished.

"Looks like whatever strengthened the Heartless and the Nobodies has passed. Now we can win this fight!" shouted Kairi as she charged at a Shadow and destroyed it.

**The World That Never Was**

"I don't believe it! What happened?" asked Pete in shock. Both he and Maleficent were surprised at the turn of events. Xehanort only looked angry.

"It would seem that the joy of seeing their friends again has replaced the fear in their hearts and deprived the Heartless and Nobodies of their strength," observed Xehanort.

"Why does that meddling king always have to show up right when victory is nearly ours?" asked Maleficent. "What a pest. Hard to believe once upon a time that he used to work for me," said Pete.

"His appearance is quite inconvenient. I guess it's time for a little demonstration of Darkness Evolution. Once it happens, I'm sure their fear will return," said Xehanort.

Xehanort then approached the energy orb and spread out his hands. Dark energy began to gather in his hands and his eyes began to glow. "Let the Evolution begin!" he announced.

**Destiny Islands**

"Oh yeah!" shouted Kairi as she sliced through a Dusk and destroyed it. With the aid of the Disney Castle gang, the battle had turned in their favor. There were only about half of their opponents left.

"We can't give up, fellas! Let's give them all we got!" shouted Mickey. But before anyone else could make a move, they stopped. Something strange was happening to the Shadows.

The Shadows had stopped in their tracks. They made no move to attack. Instead, they just quivered as if something was affecting them within their bodies.

"What's going on? Why'd they stop?" asked Kairi. "I don't know. I've never seen Heartless act like this before," said Mickey.

"Look! The same thing's happenin' to the Nobodies!" exclaimed Goofy. Everyone turned around and saw that the Dusks had stopped and were quivering as well. Then it began.

The Shadows began to grow taller in height. Their bodies became sleeker and their arms and legs grew longer. Their heads changed shape and their antennae grew longer. To the shock of the heroes, the Shadows had become Neoshadows.

Adding even more shock was the transformation of the Dusks. They grew bigger and more muscular. Their backs hunched downward as their arms grew spikes out of their sides. The Dusks were now Assassins.

Their unexpected transformation complete, the Heartless and Nobodies sprang into action. The Assassins dove under the sand while the Neoshadows went into their flattened state and crawled around.

The group of heroes leapt into the action once again. However, there was a feeling of uneasiness due to what they had just witnessed. In all their adventures, they had never seen one kind of Heartless or Nobody turn into a different one.

An Assassin slashed through the ground toward Kairi. She held her Keyblade in front of her to block the attack. However, since she was preoccupied with the Nobody, she didn't see a Neoshadow that had crept up behind her. By the time she noticed it as it sprang out, there was no time to counterattack.

But before the Neoshadow could lay a claw on her, Pluto ran forward and bit into the Heartless' leg. Pulling with all his might, he dragged the Neoshadow away.

"Good boy, Pluto!" called Kairi. She had a great liking for Mickey's dog. He stuck by her when they were captured by the Organization.

With the Neoshadow off her back, Kairi could focus her efforts on the Assassin who had popped out of the ground. Flailing wildly, it charged at Kairi while at the same time began to slowly light up. "Kairi, watch out!" yelled Mickey.

The king of Disney Castle stepped between Kairi and the Assassin and plunged his Keyblade into the Assassin's chest. "Pluto!" he shouted as he lifted the Assassin off the ground and tossed it into the air.

At the same time, Pluto, who still had the Neoshadow clutched in his mouth, twirled about and launched it into the air. It came into contact with the Assassin which exploded. Both of them were destroyed.

"Word of advice, Kairi: Assassin Nobodies have a tendency to self-destruct," said Mickey. "Thanks, your majesty," said Kairi.

"Kairi, we've been through so much together. You can just call me Mickey," said Mickey. Kairi gave a small giggle and said, ""Come on. Let's get this battle finished."

In spite of the unexpected transformation, the heroes still managed to prevent their opponents from overcoming them. It required a change in tactics. But very soon, the enemy numbers had dwindled to a single Neoshadow and a single Assassin. Sora, Riku and Donald approached the remaining Neoshadow while at the same time, Kairi, Mickey, Goofy and Pluto confronted the last Assassin.

"You know, despite their earlier advantage and their unexpected transformation, this battle was a good workout," said Riku. "Yeah, I guess we should thank them for showing up when they did," said Sora.

"Will you two quite yakkin' so we can destroy this thing?" asked Donald. The boys nodded and focused on their opponent.

But before they attacked, the Neoshadow stiffened up. It began to quiver just like the Shadow it had once been.

"It's happening again!" shouted Riku. "Same thing's happening to the Assassin!" shouted Mickey.

Indeed, the Assassin was quivering just like before when it was a Dusk. It appeared that another transformation was about to happen.

"Destroy them before they can transform!" commanded Sora. Immediately, the two teams charged toward their targets with their weapons bared. But it was too late.

The Neoshadow began to grow even taller. Its torso grew bigger while oddly, its lower body and legs, while bigger, did not grow at the same rate. Its hands grew wider and its antennae began to wrap around its face and multiply. A heart shaped hole appeared in its chest.

Sora was shocked. The Neoshadow had become the type of Heartless he hated the most besides Ansem: a Darkside, the destroyer of the islands.

Simultaneously, the Assassin grew bigger. The spikes along its arms retracted into them while its shoulders jutted out into sharp spikes. Its back arched up as its head became rounder and topped with a Nobody insignia. Its arms and legs took the appearance of large white gloves and boots. Something like a zipper appeared on its chest and four spiked ribbons emerged from its neck.

This gigantic Nobody mystified Sora since as far as he knew, he never encountered it. Although, he did have a feeling he had battled this Nobody counterpart of the Darkside known as the Twilight Thorn. He just couldn't recall.

"Look out!" cried Donald as the Darkside launched its fist at them. Sora, Riku and Donald jumped out of the way just moments before the fist hit the sand. However, the impact shook the ground so much that they were knocked off their feet.

Mickey's group was not fairing any better. The Twilight Thorn was able to stretch its arms so it didn't need to move around as much as the Darkside. Nearly every time the elastic arms made an impact, they retracted and started all over again.

The battle had shifted in the enemy's favor. The Darkside and the Twilight Thorn had Sora and his friends on the run. As they pursued them, they caused great damage to the cove area. The obstacle course was completely devastated.

"To the cave!" shouted Riku pointing to a nearby cave with his Keyblade. The opening was too small for the giants to get in so immediately, everyone ran inside. They needed to get out of the battle so they could figure out a new strategy.

**The World That Never Was**

Back in the Castle of Light's Doom, the three villains were laughing evilly as they watched the battle in the observatory. It amused them greatly to see their enemies forced to cower in a cave. With the heroes overwhelmed, it was only a matter of time before the Darkside and the Twilight Thorn would go onto wreak havoc throughout the Destiny Islands.


	11. Ch 10: The Fall of the Giants

**Chapter 10: The Fall of the Giants**

**Destiny Islands**

"This is crazy! What are we going to do? How are we supposed to beat these things?" asked Donald.

"Sora, haven't you fought these things before?" asked Kairi. "I've fought the Darkside three times before. However, once was in a dream. But I never fought it alongside that giant Nobody out there," said Sora.

"It's called a Twilight Thorn. They're probably the most powerful kind of Nobody that isn't human in form," explained Mickey. "Thanks. I'm sure now that we know what its name is, it'll be easier to beat it," said Riku sarcastically.

Almost on cue, the long arm of the Twilight Thorn reached in through the cave entrance. The heroes flattened themselves against the cave wall as the Nobody's hand felt around for them. "Whatever we're going to do, we need to think of it and fast!" shouted Riku.

"I know how to deal with the Darkside. If we can get up to its head, we can inflict major damage. Whenever I fought it, I ran up its arms. But back then it didn't have the Twilight Thorn fighting alongside it so I don't think that opportunity is going to happen," said Sora.

"If we were in Neverland, ya could fly up to the head," said Goofy. "But we're not in Neverland, ya big palooka!" shouted Donald.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Mickey's head. "Goofy, I think your idea is a good one!" he exclaimed. "Huh?" asked Donald.

"We may not be able to fly. But we can come up with something pretty close. Sora can glide up to the Darkside's head if he activates his Final Form," said Mickey.

"My Drive Forms! I can't believe I forgot about them! Donald, Goofy, you don't mind sitting out the battle while I borrow your powers for my Final Form, do you?" asked Sora.

"No problem, Sora. If we can help you finish off that monster, Donald and I will be glad to help," said Goofy. "Always have to do things on your own, do you Sora?" asked Donald although he was smiling as he said it.

"What about the Twilight Thorn?" asked Riku. "Well, that I can't say. You see, I've never faced that type of Nobody before. Although, it does look vaguely familiar," said Sora.

"Maybe the head is its weak spot as well. But how are we supposed get up to it?" asked Kairi.

"While Sora engages the Darkside, I have no doubt the Twilight Thorn will try to stop him. When that happens, then we'll make our move. Riku, you lead the charge," said Mickey. "Got it," responded Riku.

"Only one problem. How are we going to get out of here?" asked Kairi. She indicated the arm of the Twilight Thorn which was still feeling around for them.

"Donald, would you care to make things a little hot to handle for the Twilight Thorn?" asked Mickey with a smile. "Gladly, your Majesty," said Donald as he pointed his staff at the Twilight Thorn.

A fireball burst out of the staff and struck the Twilight Thorn's hand. The giant Nobody recoiled its hand in pain.

"Let's do it!" yelled Sora as he ran out of the cave. As he beheld the two enemies, he began to concentrate and then shouted out, "Give me strength!"

Immediately, Sora's clothes burst into white light while within the cave, Donald and Goofy vanished. When the light died down, Sora's clothes had turned completely white. Two Keyblades, Oathkeeper and Oblivion floated aside him.

Moving as if he was walking on air, he ran by the Twilight Thorn. It attempted to stop the powered up Keyblade master by firing down streams of energy that resembled branches of thorns. But Sora avoided each of them and made his way to the Darkside.

The Darkside did not stand by while Sora made his approach. It responded by firing energy blasts from the heart shaped cavity in its body. But with the powers of the Final Form, Sora easily dodged them and leapt into the air. He then glided right toward the face of the Darkside.

With a gesture of his hands, Sora directed the Keyblades to pummel the Darkside in the face. Unable to get its bearings, the Darkside was helpless against Sora's relentless onslaught.

As Mickey had predicted, the Twilight Thorn turned its attention away from the cave and toward Sora. It raised its elastic arms in preparation to grab the young boy hovering in the air. It never saw what happened next.

Riku charged out of the cave and leapt onto the Twilight Thorn's back. Its back was at an angle so that he could run up it. Preoccupied with trying to rescue its companion, it never noticed Riku's presence until it was too late.

Upon reaching the Twilight Thorn's neck, Riku plunged his Keyblade into it. The Twilight Thorn flailed its arms wildly as the pain caused it to lose its balance. It fell down to its chest.

"Now Kairi! Let's get it!" called out Mickey as he and Kairi ran out of the cave. Pluto opted to stay behind since the Twilight Thorn was out of his league.

Kairi and Mickey made their way to the Twilight Thorn's head and began to beat on it with their Keyblades. Riku participated as well.

The tide of battle had turned again. The Darkside and the Twilight Thorn who had earlier had the Keybearers and their friends on the run were now at their mercy. But as everyone knew, creatures of their kind deserved no mercy.

After a series of attacks from three Keybearers, the Twilight Thorn finally gave in. Riku jumped off and joined his friends as they witnessed the Nobody fade away into darkness.

Riku and Kairi cheered while up at the cave's entrance, Pluto barked happily. Mickey however, was not cheering.

"Don't celebrate yet. Sora may need our help with the Darkside," said Mickey. Riku and Kairi nodded and turned to face the Darkside. But before they attacked, Riku said, "I think he's got things under control."

It was true. Sora had been fighting the Darkside and beating its head with his two Keyblades. Finally, the Darkside began to flail in the air as its body began to dissolve.

Sora halted his attack and fell to the ground. Just as soon as he landed, his clothes became black again and the two Keyblades vanished leaving his Kingdom Key in his hand. At the same time, Donald and Goofy reappeared at his sides.

Everyone's attention was focused as the Darkside moved erratically in some feeble attempt to fight the forces that were causing it to dissolve. Its efforts were in vain as it, like its Nobody ally, faded away.

The battle was over. The heroes had won. The Destiny Islands were now, for the time being, safe.

**The World That Never Was**

"Arrgh! I can't believe it! They won!" shouted Pete in fury. "Indeed, they did. Their teamwork is just as strong despite being apart for awhile," said Maleficent.

"Worry not, my friends. I never sent that squadron to the islands with intention to succeed. They were messengers and the message has been received. The darkness is rising again and it has new abilities that they can't begin to comprehend. We'll let them enjoy the small victories they can get. But in the end, the darkness will swallow them all," said Xehanort.

With Xehanort's words, the tension in Pete and Maleficent was eased. But they were now a little more curious about Xehanort's new abilities.

"Xehanort, how is it that you have gained these new powers just from the reunion of your Heartless and Nobody? You said they were diminished so how do you now have power that is nearly equal to my own?" asked Maleficent.

"All will be explained in due time, Maleficent. For now, there is too much work to be done," responded Xehanort.

"Well, can you at least explain this Darkness Revolution?" asked Pete. "Darkness Evolution, Pete," corrected Maleficent. "Yeah. Yeah. So you can turn any Heartless and Nobody into a stronger form, yes?" asked Pete.

"That is correct. However, there are a few limitations. I can only evolve Pureblood Heartless into other Purebloods. The same notion applies to Emblems as well," said Xehanort.

"Could you evolve the Nobodies into human forms like the Organization? As much as I despised those empty shells, I have to admit that their power was admirable," asked Maleficent.

"I could. That is, if I wanted to. But I think that you find that they would be harder to control than the lesser Nobodies. Higher powered Nobodies tend to think a little more independently. Being a former one, I speak from experience. It would be counterproductive to evolve them that far," said Xehanort.

'So even with all his powers, Xehanort has his limitations including those self-imposed. However, he must not be too concerned about them if he openly admits them. But I'll find a weakness eventually. It's only a matter of time," thought Maleficent.

As Maleficent pondered, Xehanort went on with his speech. "My powers can provide great strength to the Heartless and Nobodies. But we can't rely on them completely. For our plans to succeed, we need complete beings with the will to harness the powers of darkness," said Xehanort.

At the end of Xehanort's words, a Hook Bat flew up to the side of his head. Though no words came from the Heartless, it was apparently telling Xehanort something. "I see. Thank you," he said with a smile. The Hook Bat then flew off.

"We have a visitor: a potential addition to our army. Let us go meet him," said Xehanort as he walked toward the carriage. Maleficent and Pete followed him.

A brief trip later, the villainous trio arrived in the lobby. As they arrived, they heard a familiar voice.

"Look, I followed that Heartless here and put aside my very important plans to destroy Hercules and take over Olympus aside. So now all I want to know is whose party this is. Is that too much to ask?" roared the voice.

Xehanort, Maleficent and Pete all smiled. Hades, the God of the Underworld had arrived. The first of many, they hoped, that would join in their plans for plunging the universe into darkness.

_Author's Note: This is the last we'll hear of the villains for awhile unfortunately. They're just so fun to write for. Also, I know that Sora doesn't get two different Keyblades when he uses his Drive Forms. But this isn't a video game though if I had my way, it would be. In my opinion, Sora can use whatever Keyblades he wants when he engages his drive forms._


	12. Ch 11: The Keyhole & The Departure

**Chapter 11: The Keyhole and the Departure**

**Destiny Islands**

Sora gazed about at the destruction that the Heartless and Nobodies had wrought. The obstacle course that he and Riku used to race on was completely ruined. Though they were lucky that this was the only part of his home world that was destroyed, it still hurt him greatly.

'They'll pay for this. The Heartless, the Nobodies, and whoever sent them here. By my word as a Keyblade master, I will make them regret ever coming here,' he thought.

All of a sudden, Donald and Goofy tackled him from the sides. They wrapped him in a big group hug expressing their joy at seeing him again. With that action, Sora forgot all about his anger.

He wasn't the only one enjoying a reunion. Riku and Mickey were shaking hands. Riku had told him how the King had helped him through all his difficult times and never gave up on him even when things looked their worst. As such, their bond was just as strong as his with Donald and Goofy.

To Sora's surprise, Kairi wasn't being left out. Pluto was standing on his hind legs as he licked Kairi's face. She laughed happily.

"Okay, Pluto! Enough! I'm glad to see you too!" she said in between laughs. The dog then sat down and wagged his tail.

"Pluto insisted very much on coming with us, Kairi. I think really he wanted to see you again," said Mickey.

"Kairi, I didn't know you knew Pluto like that," said Sora. "Well Sora, when Axel tried to take me from the Islands, Pluto led me away from him. Somehow I knew I could trust him more than I could trust Axel. And even when the Organization captured me, he stuck by me. He was a great source of support, weren't you good boy?" asked Kairi as she patted Pluto on the head.

"It's great to see all of you again," said Sora. "Same here, Sora. Though I wish it was under better circumstances," said Mickey indicating the damage the battle had done.

"Yeah. It never seems to end, does it?" asked Riku. "We are working on finding a way to seal the forces of darkness away. We know it can't be destroyed. But we can try to make it so that beings like the Heartless and the Nobodies can never harm anyone ever again," said Mickey.

"So what are we going to do now, Your Majesty?" asked Sora. "Please, Sora. You can just call me Mickey. We're all friends here. Even Donald and Goofy are allowed to but always seem to forget," said Mickey. "All right, Mickey," said Sora with a smile.

"From the looks of things, it seems we were right to arrive when we did. You three are very important to the universe so we need to get you to a safe place. Since you three have Keyblades, the forces of darkness will never leave you alone now that they are active again. So in that case, we have to get you to Disney Castle. You'll be safe under the Cornerstone of Light's protection there," said Mickey.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go," said Sora. "Hold it, Sora. There are some things we need to do first. First of all, we need to go to the Keyhole of this world," said Mickey.

"The Keyhole! I can't believe it! I never sealed it!" exclaimed Sora. "Sora, you goofball! You've been to the secret place since you returned and you never thought to seal it?" asked Riku incredulously. "I thought that it didn't matter anymore," retorted Sora.

"Boys, please! Master Yen Sid believed that the Keyhole was sealed automatically when the Destiny Islands were restored. But he wants us to do something else to it," said Mickey.

"We'd better get a move on then. Where is this secret place ya guys are talkin' about?" asked Goofy. "This way. We'll show you where it is," said Riku pointing in the direction that Mickey and his friends had come from.

But before they could take one step, Kairi pointed to the debris of the obstacle course. "Look!" she exclaimed.

Below the debris, the ground was glowing. A burst of light erupted from it clearing the debris away. There on the sand was the shape of a large Keyhole.

"What? But it's supposed to be in the secret place. How did it get out here?" asked Sora.

"We believe that even after being sealed, as an extra safety precaution, the world moves its Keyhole to a different location. But since it's here, we can do what we have to do with it. Sora, Riku, Kairi, hold up your Keyblades and point them at the Keyhole," instructed Mickey.

The three teens followed the king's orders and pointed their Keyblades at the Keyhole. Mickey added in his Keyblade as well.

In response to the Keyhole, streams of light burst from the four Keyblades. They struck the Keyhole and it filled with light. The sound of something being locked followed.

Normally, as far as Sora, Donald and Goofy knew, that would be the end of the sealing process. But to their surprise, something else happened this time.

Four golden streams of light emerged from the Keyblades. The streams flew through the air and landed on the Keyhole in a vertical line, a horizontal line and two diagonal lines across it. Then the Keyhole vanished as if it had never been there in the first place.

Sora didn't understand what had just happened. But he had a feeling that Mickey knew. "Mickey, is the island's Keyhole sealed now?" he asked.

"Sealed and reinforced as well, Sora. The darkness won't be able to devour your world's heart. At least for now," said Mickey.

"For now? What do you mean for now? I thought when a world's Keyhole was sealed, the Heartless wouldn't be able to get at it at all," said Riku.

"I'm sorry, everyone. But there really is no time to explain. At least, not here. What's important is that the Keyhole is sealed and we can be on our way," said Mickey.

Sora never liked it when Mickey kept them in the dark about certain things. But he usually had a good reason so there was no reason he didn't have one this time. "All right, let's go," said Sora.

"You going to call down the Gummi ship now?" asked Kairi. "Nope. I'm afraid the Gummi Ship's currently out of service. But our temporary ride is parked on the beach on the other side. Yer friend Tidus and the others are watchin' it for us," said Goofy.

"I hope you didn't weird them out too much. I mean, you are a funny looking bunch," said Riku with a smile. "Hey, what's that supposed mean?" asked Donald sounding slightly offended. Everyone laughed.

"As long as there's even one Keybearer here, the Heartless won't leave the Destiny Islands alone. I suggest we'd better get goin'," said Mickey.

Everyone agreed. They all left the devastated cove and headed along the pathway to the other side of the island.

A short walk later, the group of seven arrived on the other side. Suddenly, Mickey, Donald and Goofy let out a gasp.

"The bed! It's gone!" exclaimed Goofy. "Those kids must've taken it! They could be out gallivanting around the worlds, the little thieves," said Donald.

"Hey! Don't talk about Tidus and the others like that!" scolded Kairi. "And we didn't steal it!" called a male voice from behind them.

They all turned around in the direction and saw Tidus. Behind him, Wakka and Selphie were pulling the bed out of the cover of a tropical fern.

"We saw those monsters on the other side of the island. We wanted to hide but we didn't want to leave the bed if it was that important to you guys. So we hid it before we hid ourselves," said Selphie.

Donald gave a look of shame. "I'm sorry I accused you of stealing it. I should've known better," he said.

Sora, Riku and Kairi gazed at the bed in surprise. "You guys seriously got here on this?" asked Riku.

"Yes indeed, Riku. While the Gummi ships are being attended to by our new engineers, we'll be traveling on this magical bed. I'll admit it's not quite as fast as the Gummi Ship. But it helps us sneak by the enemy ships in the space between worlds," explained Mickey. "Plus it's very comfortable as well!" chimed in Goofy.

"Well if you guys say so," said Sora. "I'll believe it when I see it," said Riku skeptically.

"This should be interesting. I've never travelled by bed before," said Kairi. "There's no way like it!" said Goofy.

Everyone who was going began to board onto the bed. As they did, Selphie asked, "Sora, I know you guys have to go again. But can you at least tell us why?"

"Yeah, Sora. What was the deal with those monsters we saw? Did it have anything to do with that odd storm a few years ago?" asked Tidus.

"It's a very long story, guys and I wish we could tell it now. But there are worlds that are in danger out there. And we're the only ones who can save them. I know it sounds hard to believe but it's the truth," said Sora.

Tidus, Wakka and Selphie tried to comprehend this notion. The very thought of people as young as they were being chosen to be heroes was a little farfetched. But between the magical bed, the group from Disney Castle and the mysterious monsters that had wrecked the cove, it seemed nothing was impossible.

"Well, you guys do what you have to do then. But if you need our help or anything, don't hesitate to call us," said Wakka. "We may just do that, Wakka," said Mickey.

'What did he mean by that? Are things really that bad that Mickey's needing all the help he can get' thought Sora. Recent events were troubling him.

Pretty soon, the group of seven was on board the bed. Kairi, Riku and Goofy sat against the back with Sora in the middle. Mickey and Donald were up at the front with Pluto lying down with his head on Kairi's lap. It was quite a sight.

"For the record everyone, I feel ridiculous," said Riku. "I agree with you, Riku," said Donald.

Tidus stifled a giggle and whispered to Wakka, "Wish I had my camera." "I heard that!" exclaimed Riku.

"How does this bed work, Mickey?" asked Kairi. "Let me explain. The magical travelling spell on this is easy enough to use. The spell is actually in this bed knob here," said Mickey indicating the right hand bed knob at the front of the bed.

"All you have to do is tell it where you want to go. Then you tap it three times and give it a quarter turn to the left," continued Mickey.

"Can I try it?" asked Sora. "Sure, Sora. Come right up," said Mickey. Sora crawled up to the bed knob.

"Are you sure it won't take us somewhere horrible if he messes up?" asked Riku. "No it won't because I'm not going to mess it up," retorted Sora.

Sora then turned to the bed knob. "So where are we going? Disney Castle, right?" he asked.

"Not just yet, Sora. We have to go to the Mysterious Tower first. Master Yen Sid is expecting us. Now everybody, hold on tight," said Mickey.

Everyone grabbed onto what they could be it the bed frame or the sheets. "Now I feel even more ridiculous," said Riku.

"Okay, Sora. Go," said Mickey. "Right, Mickey. Okay bed, take us to the Mysterious Tower," said Sora.

Then, following Mickey's instructions, Sora tapped the bed knob three times. As he gave it the quarter turn to the left, the bed knob started to glow with orange light.

Soon, the bed was surrounded by sparkles of light. Everyone held on as the bed began to move. Pretty soon, the bed vanished in a sparkle of light leaving Tidus, Wakka and Selphie all alone on the beach. "Good luck, you guys," said Tidus.

For the three teens that had been left behind, it had been a very unusual day. They could only hope that whatever lied for their friends on their adventure, they would succeed and come home safely.

_Author's Note: And they're off. The next chapter will include one of my original concepts for this story: the Council of the Watchers of the Worlds. Bit of a mouthful, isn't it. You'll see some familiar characters as well as hints as to just where this adventure will take Sora and his friends. So stay tuned!_


	13. Ch 12: The Call & Those Who Answered

**Chapter 12: The Call and Those Who Answered**

**Mysterious Tower**

It wasn't too long after leaving the Destiny Islands that the bed with the seven travelers materialized in a burst of light. They had arrived in a new world and they all began to disembark the bed.

"Whoa! That was amazing!" exclaimed Sora. "You said it, Sora. I had my doubts about travelling on this bed. But that was one cool ride," said Riku.

"Glad you enjoyed it boys. But keep in mind it's only temporary until the Gummi ship is ready," said Mickey.

"Why, Mickey? Why can't we just keep using this bed? It's quick, smooth and we don't have to worry about fighting those enemy Gummi ships between worlds," said Sora.

"That may be true. But using this bed is way too risky. If something happened to it while we were in another world, we'd be stranded. Once the Gummi ship is ready, this bed will have to serve a different purpose," said Mickey.

Sora had to admit that Mickey was right as usual. The bed was just too vulnerable. It could easily get lost, stolen or even destroyed.

Sora's attention then turned to Kairi. She was gazing upwards at the tall and slightly crooked tower in front of them. Her gaze showed that she was awestruck. "What a wondrous place!" she exclaimed.

"It is, isn't it? This is the place where I learned how to use a Keyblade. Master Yen Sid taught me everything I know about combat and magic. Though I did make some mistakes, he was always very forgiving," said Mickey.

"You were lucky he didn't send you away after that incident with the brooms," said Donald with a laugh. Mickey blushed in embarrassment.

"Yes, it wasn't one of his finest moments," said a voice. Everyone turned in the direction the voice had come from. There in front of the door to the tower stood the great sorcerer himself: Yen Sid.

Immediately, Sora, Mickey, Donald and Goofy bowed in respect. Pluto bowed as well and following their lead, so did Riku and Kairi.

"Sora, it is very good to see you again. I commend you on your victory over the Organization," said Yen Sid. "Well, I had help. I couldn't have done it without my friends," said Sora modestly.

"Indeed. The greatest strength that is found is within the bonds of friendship," said Yen Sid.

"Master Yen Sid, I'd like you to meet my friends from home, Riku and Kairi," said Sora indicating each of them. Riku and Kairi gave small waves in response. They were a little intimidated by the stern looking sorcerer.

"Ah yes. Riku, the boy who was seduced by the darkness but found his way to the light and Kairi, one of the legendary Princesses of Heart and possessor of one of the purest hearts in the entire universe. I welcome you both. But there is much to do right now so follow me to the Council Chamber," said Yen Sid.

The sorcerer turned around and the doors opened in response. Yen Sid walked into the tower with Sora and the others following behind him.

"How did he know about us?" asked Riku. "Ahyuck! There's not much that Master Yen Sid doesn't know!" said Goofy.

The group followed Yen Sid to a pair of doors in the foyer. Sora was sure they hadn't been there before on his last visit. The doors opened to Yen Sid's approach and they all entered.

In the room, before them were two semicircle-shaped balconies made of wood with one over the other. Both of them contained large wooden chairs. There were seven chairs in the upper balcony and six in the lower balcony. Yen Sid climbed some stairs to the upper balcony and made his way to the middle chair.

Once he sat down, he held up his hands in front of his face with the palms facing each other. A ball of light materialized between his hands.

"Watchers of Worlds, heed my call. The Council is gathering. Come one! Come all!" chanted Yen Sid.

Immediately the ball of light burst into twelve smaller balls and flew from Yen Sid's hands. They soared over the heads of the group and out the door they came in.

"The Council should be arriving soon. Then we can discuss the events that are currently unfolding in the universe," said Yen Sid. "Master Yen Sid, if you don't mind telling me, what is the Council?" asked Kairi.

"I suppose an explanation is in order for the benefit of inquiring minds. The Council of the Watchers of the Worlds is a special organization I formed during your adventures in battling the Organization. Travelling in secret, I sought the wisest beings throughout the universe that could be trusted with the secrets of the worlds. Our mission is to monitor the worlds and provide aid to those whose mission is to protect them," said Yen Sid.

"Namely us," said Riku. Yen Sid nodded in response and said, "So far, I have enlisted twelve from other worlds. But I do hope more will join."

"Master Yen Sid, isn't that meddling? I thought people from other worlds were to stay out of other worlds' business as best as they could. At least, that's what King Triton told me," said Sora recalling the stern ocean king's words about keeping out of other worlds' affairs.

"Back then, he was right. But I'm afraid that things have changed. If the universe has a chance to survive what is to come, the worlds must unite," said Yen Sid.

"Who's on this Council?" asked Sora. Yen Sid gave a small smile before he said, "Some you know. Some you do not know but have mutual acquaintances. And some you have not met until today."

As if in response, one of the balls of light entered the room. "Ah, the first arrives," said Yen Sid.

The ball flew over to the chair to Yen Sid's right. It landed on the chair and in a flash of light; an old man with a long white beard wearing a blue cloak and a tall blue hat was sitting in it.

"Merlin!" exclaimed Sora upon seeing the old wizard again. "Good to see you, my boy! I do hope you've been practicing your magic diligently," said Merlin.

Sora rubbed the back of his head embarrassingly. "Well, he would have, sir. But we sort of had to fight and run back on the islands," said Riku speaking for his friend.

Another ball of light appeared and landed on the chair to Yen Sid's left. A woman in a hooded lavender cloak with white hair and carrying a magic wand appeared.

"Hello, dears. Cinderella sends her regards," said the Fairy Godmother. "Say hi to her for us," said Kairi.

After the Fairy Godmother's arrival, the next Council member arrived in the seat next to Merlin. This time, it was someone Sora didn't know.

It was a dark-skinned woman with black hair in a style that resembled dreadlocks. She was wearing a brown dress along with various beads. Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto and the Council members looked a little wary of her with the exception of Yen Sid.

"I am Calypso, goddess of the seas, Keybearer. Should you return to sail the Caribbean now, be dankful for my good graces if I should choose to give dem," said the woman in a thick accented tone that was a mix of humor and warning.

'So she's a sea goddess from the Caribbean. I wonder if Jack knows her. Given what he's gotten himself into in the past, I wouldn't be surprised,' thought Sora who was feeling uneasy.

Another chair filled next to the Fairy Godmother by a large man with a jovial expression. In spite of his muscular physique, his hair and beard were white as clouds. He wore a purple toga affixed with a golden medallion which upon closer inspection became familiar to Sora. It was the image of the Olympus Stone he had used back in the Underworld. "Excuse me sir, but do you know Hercules?" he asked.

"Of course. I'm his father, Zeus the king of the gods of Olympus. So you're Sora. My son's told me so much about you. He says you're on your way to becoming just as great a hero as he is," said the god.

After Zeus, a chair next to Calypso was filled by an elderly merman with a large white beard and wearing a golden crown. Clutching his trident, King Triton gazed down at Sora and his friends and gave them a warm smile. They all responded with a bow.

"Your majesty! I didn't expect to see you on this Council," said Sora. "Years ago, young Keybearer, I wouldn't have believed it myself. But Ariel's and your actions in Atlantica have changed my views on so many things," said the Sea King.

Sora thought about asking how Ariel and Prince Eric were doing. But before he could, another member showed up next to Zeus. This one was the most unusual yet.

In front of the chair was a willow tree with a thick trunk and large branches. To Sora, Riku and Kairi's surprise, the face of an elderly woman appeared in it. She smiled down at the three teens.

"Hello, young Keybearers. I am Grandmother Willow. I hope my guidance will serve you well," said the tree. "Sorcerers, wizards, gods, talking trees; who else did they get for this Council?" asked Riku.

Riku's question was answered as another ball of light emerged into the room. With top row filled up, it went to the far left chair of the bottom row.

When the light cleared, a gray furred monkey with a brightly colored face was sitting in the chair. He was holding a wooden staff with a pair of gourds dangling from it.

"A monkey?" asked Riku. "I happen to be properly known as a mandrill, young man. And consider yourself lucky that I don't whack you with my stick for your error in judgment," said Rafiki.

Sora laughed. He was surprised to see the old mandrill. But given Rafiki's wisdom, he certainly deserved a spot on this Council.

After Rafiki, the next ball of light struck the chair on the far right of the bottom row. Sora smiled as he saw a familiar blue figure with a black beard and a black topknot sitting in the chair.

"Sora, my friend! How's it been goin'?" asked Genie as he stretched out his hand toward Sora. Sora took it and shook it with a laugh. It was always entertaining to see Genie.

The next one to arrive was another stranger to Sora. It was a short squat woman dressed in a white robe and a white turban on her head. Her eyes were covered by dark glasses and she had a snake around her shoulders.

"Ha! If I knew we were gonna be gatherin', I woulda brought us some gumbo!" she exclaimed as she sat down in the chair to Rafiki's left.

"Everyone, this is Mama Odie. She is a practitioner of voodoo magic," said Yen Sid.

"And a darn good one at that! You should see what this one hundred and ninety seven old blind lady can do! Ain't that right, Juju?" asked Mama Odie to the snake. The snake nodded in response.

In the chair to Genie's right, the next Council member had arrived. This one was more unusual than Grandmother Willow.

It was a large crystal ball filled with an eerie green mist. Slowly, the mist swirled about until it took the form of a bushy black haired woman's head with dark red lips. She could almost be mistaken for Maleficent.

"Greetings, mortals. I am Madame Leota, seer of all. My talents will serve you well since I have a remarkable head for materializing the disembodied," said the woman.

"She must since that's all she's got," whispered Sora to Kairi who giggled. "Hey! Show some respect for your elders especially those who are not among the living!" said Madame Leota.

After seeing Madame Leota, Sora and his friends thought that nothing could beat her oddity. The next member to arrive proved them wrong.

In the chair to Mama Odie's left, a blue caterpillar materialized from the ball of light. A closer look revealed he was wearing a monocle. In his hand, he held the handle of a hookah that had appeared with him.

The caterpillar eyed Sora and his friends with a look of skepticism. "So these are the Keybearers. They don't look like much," he said as he took a whiff of his hookah.

"Now Absolem, don't underestimate these young ones. There's a lot more to them than they appear," said the Fairy Godmother. "We shall see," said Absolem.

Finally, the last Council member appeared between Absolem and Madame Leota. It was a human man. Strangely, he looked pretty young compared to the other humanlike members of the Council. He was unshaven and had long hair covered by a brown hat. He was wearing a long brown leather coat and wore a ring on his right hand.

With a tip of his hat, he said, "Keybearers, I am Balthazar Blake, sorcerer of seven hundredth and seventy seventh degree. My magic is at your service."

Sora, Riku and Kairi gazed in awe at the congregation that sat before them. Yen Sid had definitely gathered a menagerie of amazing beings all for the singular purpose of helping them.

"The Council of the Watchers of the Worlds has gathered. Now let us begin our discussion of the matter at hand: the fate of the universe," said Yen Sid. The meeting had begun.

_Author's Note: So what do you think of the Council? You don't know how long it took me to think this up. Also, it's very hard to write for Calypso since she has such a unique way of talking so bear with me. And if you're wondering about lack of Mickey and the gang's reaction, it's because they've met this Council before._


	14. Ch 13: A New Mission

**Chapter 13: A New Mission**

"For the first order of business, it has come to my attention that the home world of Sora, Riku and Kairi, the Destiny Islands, recently came under attack. If they would enlighten us on the details, it would be most helpful," said Yen Sid.

Shocked murmurs rang out through the Council. They did not expect the Keybearers to be targeted so soon.

"My goodness! Are all of you alright?" asked Grandmother Willow. "Obviously they are since their presence here indicates that they won the battle," said Absolem.

"We did win. But it wasn't easy," said Riku. "Tell us everything, dear," said the Fairy Godmother.

"Well, we were training in preparation for what Mickey told us about when they came without warning. A pack of Shadows along with a pack of Dusks," said Sora.

"Heartless and Nobodies working togeder? Such a ding has never been heard of," said Calypso.

"Not to doubt the word of a sea goddess but that is what happened. And right from the start of the battle, we knew that something wasn't normal aside from the Heartless and Nobodies working together," said Riku.

"Yes. I haven't fought many of each in the past. But according to Sora and Riku, Shadows and Dusks are among the easiest Heartless to defeat. But that wasn't the case with this bunch. They were far stronger than we realized," said Kairi.

"And the strangest thing happened shortly after Donald, Goofy, Pluto and I joined in the fight. The Heartless and Nobodies evolved," said Mickey.

"Evolved? What do you mean by that?" asked Rafiki. "He means they changed from one form to another. One minute, they were Shadows and Dusks. Next thing ya know, they were Neoshadows and Assassins," said Goofy.

"The worst part came after there was only one of each left. That was when they evolved into giants," said Donald.

"Yeah, the Darkside and the Twilight Thorn. They really wrecked our obstacle course on the islands. As Riku said, it wasn't an easy battle," said Sora.

Having now heard the details of the battle, the Council looked even more concerned. Things were far worse than they had thought.

"That is most distressing to hear. The thought of Heartless and Nobodies working together is bad enough. But hearing that they now have the power to change into more powerful forms in the middle of battle is even worse," said Merlin.

"I'm afraid I have even more bad news to share. I have looked at the paths between the worlds and what I saw was not good," said Zeus. "What did you see?" asked Kairi.

"The amount of Heartless and Nobody Gummi ships has increased in number. So much in fact, a single one of our own ships couldn't possibly get through without being destroyed. It seems that they are trying to cut off all travel between worlds," said the king of the Olympus.

This news shocked Sora to the core. "But if that happens, there's no way we can help anyone," he said worriedly.

Mickey then piped up and said, "Don't worry, Sora. We've got a way around it. My Gummi Ship engineers assure me that when they're finished with the Gummi Ship, we won't even have to fight in space. We can slip by the enemy unnoticed."

"Well that's a comfort. Now what about the Keyholes?" asked Riku. "Yeah. Mickey mentioned that something may be wrong with the Keyholes," said Sora.

"Genie, Balthazar, would you care to tell us about your investigation?" asked Yen Sid. "Certainly," said Genie. Balthazar nodded in agreement.

"Mr. Blake and I have been travelling around the worlds you have visited before such as Agrabah, Deep Jungle, Halloween Town etcetera etcetera. We've been checking up on the Keyholes you sealed and something horrible is happening! The seals are beginning to unravel!" exclaimed Genie.

"Unravel? But how?" asked Sora. "I imagine it's the same dark forces that are empowering the Heartless and the Nobodies. But from what I have observed, they do not seem interested in collecting the worlds' hearts even on those worlds which have never been sealed. While they are gathering hearts from the general populace when they can, they seem to be only concerned with occupation of the world," stated Balthazar.

"Do you have any idea who's behind this?" asked Kairi. "Sadly no, Princess of Heart. Mama Odie and I have pooled all we have to divine the source of these problems. Unfortunately, we have yet to find an answer," said Madama Leota.

Sora and his friends could not believe how bad things were. Evolving enemies, unraveling Keyholes, inaccessible pathways between worlds; it was a great deal to take in. "So what are we going to do?" asked Sora.

"We believe that the best thing you all can do is this. You must travel the worlds once again. Eliminate as much of the enemy forces as much as you can while trying to find out who or what the primary force behind these events is. In regards to the Keyholes, you must seek them out. I believe King Mickey showed you how to reinforce the Keyholes," said Yen Sid.

"Yes. It happened when we sealed the Keyhole to the Destiny Islands," said Kairi.

"A singular Keyblade can seal a world's Keyhole. But if more than one Keyblade is used in the sealing process, the Keyhole is reinforced. The more Keyblades the used, the stronger the reinforcement will be and it will be harder for the dark forces to unravel the seal. It should give us time to find out the cause and put a stop to it," said King Triton.

"Sora, once more the universe has need of you and your friends. I won't deny that this may be your hardest challenge yet. It is unfortunate that this burden falls on those who are so young. But can we count on you and your friends to do what has to be done?" asked Yen Sid.

Sora looked at the Council and then darted around the room to his friends. It was true that life hadn't been easy since the Keyblade chose him and apparently, everyone thought it was going to get harder. But then he smiled.

"Of course, you can. I have plenty of friends out there in the universe and I'm not going to let them down. It's because of them I grew strong enough to defeat my enemies. As long as Riku and Kairi can come with me this time," said Sora.

"Hey, we spent too much time apart in our last adventure. We're not letting you out of our sight," said Kairi. "Besides, you heard the Sea King. The more Keyblades, the better," said Riku.

"I'll stand with you, Sora. I kept away from you too much in our last adventure. This time we will go together," said Mickey.

"Hey! Don't forget about us!" exclaimed Donald. "Yeah. We may not have Keyblades. But we're useful in other areas," said Goofy. "I wouldn't dream of it any other way," said Sora.

Pluto began to bark. "What's that boy? You want to come with us?" asked Mickey.

"Can he? Please, Mickey?" asked Kairi. Mickey laughed and said, "Of course he can."

Pluto barked happily and gave his master a lick of thanks. He then bounded over to Kairi who gave him an affectionate pat on the head.

"Well, it seems we've got our party. All we need is a destination to start from. Where do you think we should go first?" asked Sora.

"My advice is that for the rest of the day, you should return to Disney Castle. You need to rest and train. Tomorrow, you will start on your journey. As for where to go, we shall let the forces of fate decide. Merlin?" asked Yen Sid.

Merlin then reached into his robes and took out a white heart-shaped Gummi block. He used his powers to make it float to Mickey. Mickey grabbed it in mid-air.

"That is a special navigational Gummi block designed by Cid and myself. Have the engineers install it on your Gummi Ship. When you are ready to leave, touch it with one of your Keyblades. The Gummi Ship will then travel to the place where you are currently needed the most," said Merlin.

"On behalf of all of us, I wish you all the best of luck. We will continue our investigation into this current threat and hopefully find a solution," said Yen Sid.

"Thank you all. We won't let you down and we look forward to seeing you if this Gummi block leads us to your worlds," said Sora.

"This meeting of the Council of the Watchers of the Worlds is now dismissed. You may now return to your worlds," said Yen Sid. "'Bout time. I left a tub o' gumbo cookin'!" exclaimed Mama Odie.

One by one, the Council members stood up from their chairs with the exception of Grandmother Willow. They then turned into the same balls of light that they had arrived in and flew out the door. All that were left in the Council Chamber were Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto and Yen Sid.

"Before you leave, there are a few more things I need to discuss with you. Also, I have some things to give you may find useful on your travels. Let us go to the top of the Tower," said Yen Sid. Then in a flash of light, everyone in the Council Chamber vanished.

Their meeting with the Council had made their mission clear to Sora and his friends. Now they had preparations to make and the great sorcerer was just the one to help them.

_Author's Note: Sorry about the dialogue heaviness of this chapter. But it is a mission briefing and discussion so what did you expect? It's going to be a little slow for now at least until the journey begins. But keep reading and you will soon see a whole new world._


	15. Ch 14: Clothes, Spells & Allies

**Chapter 14: Clothes, Spells and Allies**

Shortly after vanishing from the Council Chamber, everyone reappeared in Yen Sid's study at the top of the Mysterious Tower. Yen Sid was behind his desk while Sora and the others were in front of it.

"So what is it you wish to give us, Master Yen Sid?" asked Sora. "To start off, I have something in mind for Riku and Kairi," said Yen Sid.

"For us? This should be interesting," said Riku. "What is it, Master Yen Sid?" asked Kairi who was curious about what the sorcerer had to offer.

"You have seen the extraordinary abilities that Sora's magical clothing allows him to do. Now that you are on the same journey, which will be a most difficult one, I am granting you both the same abilities," said the sorcerer.

"You mean we'll be able to use those Drive Forms Sora uses? That is amazing!" exclaimed Kairi. "Indeed it is. But to utilize these abilities will require a change of clothing," said the sorcerer.

Yen Sid pointed to a nearby door down a short corridor. "Beyond that door are the three fairies, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather. They will provide you with the clothing you need," he said.

Kairi and Riku began to walk to the doors. Sora and the others began to follow them but Yen Sid said, "Sora, I will need to talk to you while they are getting ready."

"All right. Looking forward to seeing how you guys look after the fairies are done with you. If your new clothes are anything like mine, I'm sure they'll look good," said Sora.

Riku and Kairi smiled at the encouraging words. With a wave, they opened the doors and walked inside.

"I do hope that they can agree on a color this time," said Donald. "You know them. It's always a competition between them. At least between Flora and Merryweather," said Goofy.

"Now Sora, you understand how your Drive Forms work. To use the Valor Form, you call on Goofy's power. For Wisdom, you call on Donald. And for your Master and Final Forms, you require both of them," stated Yen Sid.

"Not to mention that weird Anti Form that comes out of nowhere. That one's scary and I don't like it," added Sora.

"Understandable. But since you have perfected the Drive Forms throughout your last adventure, the chances of the Anti Form happening again are very low. Now what I am going to do is reconfigure the magic in your clothing. Once I am done, nothing will change for your Valor and Wisdom Forms. However, you will no longer need to use both Donald and Goofy to activate your Master Form. Instead, you will only need the power of King Mickey," said Yen Sid.

"Whenever you need it Sora, my power is yours," said Mickey. "Thanks, Mickey. I appreciate that," said Sora.

"However, there is a small price to pay. To make this work, I will have to increase the requirements for the Final Form. From now on, Final Form will require the power of all three of your friends from Disney Castle. But when you do, Final Form will be more powerful than it ever was," said Yen Sid.

"That doesn't seem like a bad tradeoff, Master Yen Sid. It actually sounds like it'll help a lot. So you can go ahead," said Sora.

"I'm glad to hear you agree, Sora. Pass this information to Riku and Kairi as well when you can. And keep in mind that when using the Drive Forms, only one of you can use Valor, Wisdom or Master at the same time depending on which of your friends are used. Also, only one of you may use the Final Form at a time. Let us proceed," said Yen Sid.

Yen Sid raised his right hand and immediately Sora's clothes began to shimmer with sparkling lights. Several little sparkles flew between Yen Sid's hand and the clothing. After a few moments, the lights dimmed.

"That's it?" asked Sora. "Yes. The magic has been reconfigured. The Master and Final Forms have their new criteria for activation," said Yen Sid.

Just then, the doors to the fairies' workshop opened and everyone turned in their direction. Out stepped Riku. "Well, how do I look?" he asked.

Everyone beheld Riku's new clothing. He was wearing now wearing a sleeveless black shirt and black pants that had patches of blue on the pockets. He still wore his white and yellow vest from his previous outfit. He had silver wristbands on his wrists and a black headband wrapped around his forehead.

"Nice!" exclaimed Donald. "Ya sure look neat, Riku," said Goofy. "The fairies did an excellent job," said Mickey.

Sora's eyes drifted to the headband. He eyed it suspiciously. "You're not planning on fighting with that over your eyes again, are you?" asked Sora.

"Hey, you'd be surprised how well I can fight blindfolded. If you want to, I can show you a thing or two when we train," said Riku.

"How's Kairi doing?" asked Sora. "Oh the fairies wanted to make something really special for her. Seems they really like making clothing for girls more than boys," said Riku.

Then everyone heard some voices coming from behind the door. It sounded like arguing. Sora and Riku put their ears to the door to listen in.

"I say pink! She was wearing pink when she came in so it's clearly her favorite color, Merryweather!" said one voice. "But blue would match her eyes, Flora!" shouted back another. "Flora, Merryweather, please! Can't you compromise?" asked a third voice.

"Of course we can compromise, Fauna. But we want the young lady to look her best so pink would be a better choice," said Flora's voice. "No! Blue!" yelled Merryweather. Then Kairi's voice chimed in.

"Ladies! Look, I appreciate that you want to make me look good. But I'm not going to a ball. I'm going into battle. Can't you just give me something like the boys have?" she asked.

"Well, I guess we could. But I still don't believe it is proper for a young lady. But if you insist. All together now," said Flora's voice.

The sounds of magic were heard beyond the door. After they ceased, the boys heard Kairi say, "Perfect! I love it!" "Come dearie. Let's show your friends how you look," said Fauna's voice.

The boys immediately left the door's side and rejoined Mickey and the gang just as it opened. Flora, Fauna and Merryweather all stepped out with a newly clothed Kairi in tow.

Like Sora and Riku, black seemed to be the dominant color of her clothing with a few traces of pink and white on them. She wore a skirt that came down to her knees and a sleeveless string-strapped top. She wore white gloves and her hair was tied back in a ponytail. Around her neck, she wore her lucky charm that she had given to Sora on their first adventure.

"Lookin' good, Kairi," said Goofy. "Yeah! Doesn't she, Sora?" whispered Donald as he elbowed Sora knowingly.

"Cut it out!" Sora whispered to Donald. But as he gazed on Kairi in her new clothing, he could only think of one word to describe her: beautiful.

"We wish you well on your journey, everyone. And Kairi, after this is all done, come see us. We'll craft you a dress worthy of a Princess of Heart," said Flora.

Kairi laughed and said, "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. And thank you for these clothes. They're very comfortable." "Yeah, thanks a lot for the job you did on mine as well," said Riku.

"You are all very welcome. Look after each other now," said Fauna. "And don't get into too much trouble," said Merryweather. The three fairies then went back into their workshop.

"Don't get into too much trouble, they say? Do they know us at all?" asked Donald. Everyone laughed.

"Hey, have you noticed that even though we're fighters for light, we're wearing black?" asked Riku. "Kind of ironic, don't you think?" asked Kairi. "You can say that again," said Sora.

Everyone then turned their attention to Yen Sid. "I guess we're all good to go now, right Master?" asked Mickey.

"Not quite. There is one more thing I'd like to give you before you go," said the sorcerer as he raised his right hand again and gave it a wave.

A brief flash of light burst out and engulfed the party. After a moment, it died down. "What was that?" asked Riku.

"A special spell I put on your clothes. Should you feel the need to disguise yourself or change your clothing, just concentrate and your clothing will change into what you imagine," said Yen Sid.

Sora remembered that in some worlds, he, Donald and Goofy often took on different forms to blend in. But so far, Halloween Town was the only place they had to disguise themselves while still being the same species. He suddenly had visions of being dressed as a pirate in Port Royal or wearing royal armor in the Land of Dragons.

'This could be fun. And it'll really save Donald the trouble,' he thought as he knew it was often Donald's magic that enabled them to change form.

"In addition, I have also placed a spell on all of you that should aid you should you come across communication troubles," said Yen Sid. "What do you mean?" asked Kairi.

"In some worlds, you will find that there are beings who may be your allies and yet don't speak the same language. The spell will enable you to understand them and vice versa," said Yen Sid.

"I get it. Remember when we were in the Deep Jungle? We couldn't understand the gorillas because we didn't know gorilla speak," said Goofy. "Yeah. We could also barely understand Tarzan," said Donald.

"I guess we won't have a problem understanding them if we go back there now," said Sora. "And you won't have any problems understanding me either," said a female voice.

Everyone but Yen Sid looked around for the source of the mysterious voice. Finally, they looked up and saw a little winged woman with blonde hair tied in a bun and wearing a green dress.

"Tinker Bell!" exclaimed Sora. "It's great to see you again, Sora. And Donald and Goofy as well," said the pixie.

"It's great to see you too," said Sora. However, he was surprised to hear her talk. When they first met, Peter Pan was the only one who could understand her tinkling language.

"What are you doing here?" asked Sora. "Isn't it obvious? I'm coming with you!" exclaimed Tinker Bell. "You are?" asked Donald.

"Yes. I summoned Tinker Bell here because of the power of her pixie dust. You may come across some difficult areas throughout the worlds that may require you to fly," said Yen Sid.

"We can fly?" asked Kairi who looked excited at the prospect of flying. "I did it before and it's pretty easy to do. Just a little of Tink's pixie dust and a happy thought and off you go," said Sora.

"Yes but keep in mind that outside of Neverland, the effects of my pixie dust will wear off temporarily. So only ask for it when you really need it," said Tinker Bell. "Noted," said Sora.

"I have given you all I can. Now it is time for you to depart for Disney Castle. Train and rest and then set out for the worlds on the following day. I wish you all luck. Stay true to each other and you will never fall," said Yen Sid.

The party gave a salute to the master sorcerer. Then they turned to the exit of the study and left the sorcerer alone. Once they were gone, Yen Sid vanished from his chair likely to go on a mission of his own. Everyone had a lot to do if the universe was going to be saved.

_Author's Note: I hope you like Riku and Kairi's new outfits. I based them on Sora's but I really am no expert on designing clothes. Also, for clarification on the translator spell, it doesn't mean that Pluto is going to talk. It only affects characters that can be understood by the audience but not always by characters within the movie. Examples of this besides Tarzan are 101 Dalmatians or Bolt. Since Pluto has never talked (only lip synched), he doesn't get this benefit. Also, though Tinker Bell has never spoken in Peter Pan, she does in her solo films so she gets to talk in this story. Hope that cleared it up._


	16. Ch 15: Conversations with a Pixie

**Chapter 15: Conversations With a Pixie**

The party made their way down the long flight of stairs on their way to the doors of the Tower. Though they were concerned a little with the hard times that were ahead, they all had a feeling of excitement. Sora, Donald and Goofy were thinking about seeing all their old friends and Mickey, Riku, and Kairi were looking forward to meeting them for the first time.

As they walked, Kairi moved up to Tinker Bell who was fluttering alongside the party. "By the way, we haven't been formally introduced. I'm Kairi," she said.

"Yes, I remember you. You were that nearly unconscious girl that Hook had in his hold with Wendy. Good to see you're a little more animate now," said Tinker Bell.

"You know, Sora promised me that one day he would take me to Neverland so I could try flying. Now since it looks like since we're going to be working together on this adventure, I'm going to get that chance," said Kairi.

"My pixie dust is at your service. But if this journey does take us to Neverland, there's one thing you need to know," said Tinker Bell. "And that is?" asked Kairi.

The pixie suddenly flew in front of Kairi's face. She had a very serious look on her face.

"Keep as much distance from Peter as you possibly can!" she yelled almost threateningly. "Uh alright," said Kairi slightly taken aback by Tinker Bell's sudden outburst.

Sora chuckled and said, "Don't take it personally, Kairi. Tink's the jealous type. She sees any girl who could take Peter's attention away from her as a threat."

"But I don't think it lasts for too long. By the time we left Neverland last time, you were pretty okay with Wendy," said Goofy. "Yeah. When we brought her home away from Neverland," said Donald with a chuckle.

"As long as we're all getting to know one another, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Riku," said Riku.

Tinker Bell suddenly looked suspicious. "Weren't you working with Hook at the time when Kairi was prisoner and Sora and Peter were fighting the Heartless?" she asked.

"Well, yeah I guess I was. But back then, I wasn't thinking too clearly. I let the darkness influence me and I know now that was wrong," said Riku.

"Well, in that case I suppose I can work with you. But I'm watching you very closely," said the pixie. "Fair enough," said Riku.

But hearing Tinker Bell's recollection of the events on Hook's ship made Riku remember how much evil he had done under Maleficent's influence. While he allied himself with her in an attempt to save Kairi's heart, it was all in vain and in the end, it was Sora who saved Kairi.

'He deserved to save Kairi. All throughout the worlds he visited, he acted like a hero while I became a villain,' he thought.

He also had hurt many on his descent into darkness. Not just Sora, Donald and Goofy but a few of their friends off world as well. Among his most infamous deeds were abducting Princess Jasmine from Agrabah, attempting to kidnap Pinocchio and severely harming the Beast.

'If I ever see them again, I'm going to make sure that they know how sorry I am for what I did. And I'll do all I can to atone for it,' he thought.

"Tinker Bell, may I ask you a question?" asked Mickey. "Sure, Your Majesty," said Tinker Bell.

"You really don't have to call me that, Tink. Everyone can call me Mickey if they want to. Anyway, does your pixie dust work on dogs as well? I don't want my pal here to be left out," said Mickey indicating Pluto who began to whimper.

"My pixie dust works on anybody be they person or animal. Although, I do find that creatures with four legs have a little difficulty flying. But I'm sure with a little practice, he'll do just fine," said Tinker Bell.

"You hear that, boy? All you'll need is some practice and you'll be soaring like a majestic dog bird," said Kairi. Pluto barked happily.

"So Tink, how are things going in Neverland?" asked Sora. "Basically the same thing day after day. The Lost Boys are hunting the Indians, the mermaids are always trying to make themselves beautiful, though they'll never match me, and Peter's being a thorn in Hook's side," said Tinker Bell.

Sora, Donald and Goofy's opened wide in shock. "Hook's back in Neverland?" asked Donald. "The crocodile didn't get him?" asked Goofy.

"No, he always manages to get away from that ticking reptile. But he never learns his lesson and leaves us alone. But still, Peter does love to fight him and I just want him to be happy," said Tinker Bell.

"Well that's all well and good. But has he brought any Heartless with him?" asked Goofy. "No. After you guys fought him, he went back to his old pirate crew. And they a lot less scary than the Heartless," said Tinker Bell.

"Let's not worry about that right now fellas. If Neverland has need of us, this special Gummi block will bring us there. Right now, we follow Yen Sid's advice and head for Disney Castle," said Mickey.

They had been wrapped up in their conversations with Tinker Bell that the long walk down the Tower had passed in no time. They had reached the bottom and immediately headed for the doors leading out.

After exiting the Tower, they all headed for the bed. "You travel around on that?" asked Tinker Bell.

"Yep. But it's only temporary until our Gummi Ship is ready. In fact, the new engineers assured me it would be ready by the time we got back. But we do need to have them install this new navigational Gummi which shouldn't take too long," said Mickey.

As everyone took their places on the bed, with Tinker Bell taking a place on the head of the bed, Sora asked, "Mickey, I keep hear you talking about new Gummi engineers. What happened to Chip and Dale?"

"They're on a new assignment so we had to hire some new engineers from off world. They're really good. You'll meet them when we get there. All right, Sora. Take us away," said Mickey.

Sora approached the magic bed knob and said, "Bed, take us to Disney Castle." Then he gave it three taps and then turned it a quarter turn to the right.

"Hold on everyone! Here we go!" called Goofy as the bed began to sparkle and move. In an instant, it vanished with its passengers on its way to Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Pluto's home world: Disney Castle.

_Author__'s Note: Sorry if this short chapter seems a little pointless. I just wanted Riku and Kairi to get to know Tinker Bell a little. And I hope Tinker Bell isn't out of character for not being jealous of Kairi. But keep in mind that it's only any girl who associates herself with Peter Pan. And Kairi never had any interaction with Peter in Neverland. Heck, she barely interacted with everybody due to her lack of a heart. Anyway, keep reading. Plenty of new faces ahead!_


	17. Ch 16: Warm Welcomes

**Chapter 16: Warm Welcomes**

**Disney Castle**

The Disney Castle was always a peaceful place. Most of this peace was attributed to the Cornerstone of Light that was stored below the castle. It kept all forces of darkness at bay and with the exception of a brief time during Sora's last adventure, no Heartless had ever stepped foot in it.

In the gardens of the Castle, Donald's nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie were taking a walk. Suddenly they came to a stop when they saw sparkles appear in front of them. Smiles appeared on their bills.

"They're here!" said Huey. "We'd better tell the Queen and everyone!" said Dewey. "Let's go!" said Louie.

The three young ducks scampered off to spread the news. It wasn't too long after they left that the bed materialized in the garden.

"Home sweet home!" exclaimed Goofy. "You said it, Goofy!" chimed in Donald. "Though this job takes us to many interesting places, there really is no place like home," said Mickey.

"Boy this place is beautiful. And very funny as well," said Kairi as she gazed around at the topiary sculptures of a band in the garden.

"And here, we don't have to worry about being attacked while we're here. The Cornerstone will protect us so we can relax," said Mickey.

"Unless someone tries to mess with the past again," said Sora. "Well, yes. But chances of that happening again are pretty slim," said Mickey.

"Heh. You guys wouldn't believe how the past of this place looked. It was all black and white. And get this: Pete was kind of a good guy and Mickey used to work for him," said Sora to Riku and Kairi.

"That is strange," said Kairi. "Yeah. But not as strange as he looked in that world," said Donald laughing.

"Welcome back everyone. And welcome to you too, Riku, Kairi and Tinker Bell," said a female voice from behind them.

Everyone turned around and saw they had a welcoming committee. Queen Minnie Mouse was there along with her lady-in-waiting Daisy Duck. Huey, Dewey and Louie were carrying a banner that said, 'Welcome Sora, Riku and Kairi,' in big letters. Scrooge McDuck had come as well. But there was also a new face in the crowd.

He looked like a teenage version of Goofy. He was wearing a suit of gray armor and he had a scabbard on his back with a large sword.

Mickey ran to Minnie who gave him a big hug. They parted for a moment and exchanged a kiss. Donald did the same with Daisy.

Goofy, in the meantime, had walked over the young knight and gave him a friendly pat on the back. He then led him to Sora and the others. "Sora, I'd like you to meet my son, Max," he said.

"Your son? You never told me you were a father," said Sora who was quite shocked at this news. Max looked hurt.

"Aw Dad, you never mentioned me?" he asked. "Sorry, Maxie. I guess with all we've been doin', the opportunity never came up," said Goofy a little embarrassed. Max shook his head but retained a smile on his face.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Sora. My dad told me great things about you," he said as he shook Sora's hand.

"Thanks. I wish I could say the same," said Sora. "Yeah. But what do you expect from a father who's a little well goofy," said Max.

"Oh and these are my best friends from my home world Riku and Kairi," said Sora. Max shook hands with each of them.

"And don't forget me! I'm Tinker Bell!" said the pixie as she flew up to Max and shook his finger.

"Ah yes. My dad mentioned you too. He says you get really jealous sometimes," said Max.

Tinker Bell put her hands on her hips and frowned. "Is that what everyone always thinks of me? I have other qualities too you know!" she huffed.

"Yeah but they're not as prominent as your envy," said Donald. Tinker Bell responded by flying over to Donald and kicking him in the bill. Everyone laughed.

"Sora! Aye it's great to see you again, lad. And it's a pleasure to finally meet your friends," said Scrooge as he approached while carrying a small cooler.

"How's business been, Scrooge? Been selling a lot of ice cream?" asked Sora. The elderly duck's face fell.

"Oh I wish it were as great as it used to be. However, those wretched Heartless and Nobody ships have cut off all access to other worlds so I can't sell my wares. The filthy monsters! They're really bad for business!" yelled Scrooge angrily.

But then he broke into a smile. "But now that you're all here, I'm sure things will go back to normal and then I can make money like I used to. In the meantime, I have a little treat for you," he said as he opened the cooler.

Scrooge then reached into the cooler and pulled out three bars of sea-salt ice cream. He handed one each to Sora, Riku and Kairi.

"All right! I love this stuff! Riku, Kairi you'll love it too," said Sora. But before he could take a bite, he stopped. "Oh. How much munny for it, Scrooge?" he asked.

"Oh bah! No charge for those who are going to save the universe," said Scrooge. "Well that's very nice of you," said Kairi.

"Besides, once I can safely sell this ice cream in other worlds again, I may call upon you three for an endorsement. Nothing will sell more bars than a recommendation from those who saved the universe," said Scrooge as he walked off laughing.

"He's a bit of miser, isn't he?" asked Riku. "A bit? Donald told me once that Scrooge actually has a bin full of money he swims in. But as much as he loves his money, Scrooge does love his family and friends even more," said Sora.

"We've been waiting for your arrival. I trust all of you had a safe trip and your visit to Master Yen Sid was helpful," asked Minnie as she approached them.

"Yes. We know what we have to do. So tomorrow we're setting out for the other worlds. That is, if the Gummi Ship is ready," said Sora.

"The ship is all ready for you. And I must say those engineers did a bonny good job on it," said Scrooge.

"Great! Now all we need to do is install this special Gummi block on it. Boys, can you take it to the Gummi workshop and get it installed?" asked Mickey as he took out the Gummi block and held it out to Donald's nephews.

"We would. But the engineers aren't here right now," said Dewey. "They had to go home for the rest of the day," said Huey. "But they said they'd be back in the morning," said Louie.

"Then we'll just have to get them to install it then. In the meantime, I suggest we go the training field and practice until dinner time," said Mickey. "Yeah. I need to teach these two how to use the Drive Forms," Sora agreed.

"Follow me to the trainin' field. Maxie, would you like to come with us?" asked Goofy.

"Me?" asked Max who was taken aback at his father's request. "Sure. If you want to become Captain of the Royal Knights one day, you need to practice with the best," said Goofy.

"Yeah come on Max," encouraged Kairi. "We want to see what you can do," said Riku.

"Well, I may not have fought the level of battles you have. But I am pretty good. So yeah I'll come," said Max.

"I'll have the servants make up rooms for you since you're spending the night. Train hard. So many around the universe are counting on you," said Minnie. "So no pressure, right?" asked Riku jokingly

"And Donald? Don't forget we have a dinner date tonight! You're not getting out of it just because you're training!" called Daisy. Donald chuckled nervously.

"Boy, are you ever henpecked, Donald," said Sora. "I believe the more appropriate word would be duckpecked," teased Riku. "Aw phooey," said Donald.

The party and Max followed Goofy in the direction of the training ground. Yen Sid had bestowed upon them new abilities and the time had come to test them before their adventure began.

_Author's Note: Yet another drabbling. I'm sorry. But the next chapter will be more action packed. It'll have to be since we're going to see a sparring match between three characters using Drive Forms. Also, Max's presence shows that I will be using characters from Disney television series in this fic. It's already been done when they used Experiment 221 a.k.a. Sparky in Birth By Sleep. He won't be joining them on their adventure though. But someone else will. I'll give you a hint. He's an often overlooked member of the party who, like Tinker Bell, has appeared outside his movie many times in Disney history. Also, if you're confused as to how Tinker Bell can be understood by everyone now, even those not in the party, the spell works as long as she is in close proximity to a party member. So she can be understood by all. So let the training begin!_


	18. Ch 17: Drive Training

**Chapter 17: Drive Training**

Much later, the group walked into a large area that resembled a football field. At every corner of the field was a large metal disk. A large screen was at the center of the field attached to a control panel.

"Perfect! This'll be a great place to train," said Sora. "And this time, no interruptions from enemies," said Riku.

"While you guys practice fighting, I'm going to take Pluto and give him a flying lesson," said Tinker Bell. "Okay, good luck," said Mickey as Tinker Bell and Pluto walked to a nearby spot on the sidelines.

"This training field is courtesy of Cid. He created it based on the virtual Heartless machine in Radiant Garden. But don't worry. The Target-Bots spawned by this machine are harmless. It can even keep score so you'll know how well you did. I'll go set it up," said Max as he walked over to the control panel.

"So if we're going to practice using the Drive Forms, who gets who?" asked Kairi. "Sora, you're the most experienced of us with the Drive Forms. Who do you think we should take?" asked Riku.

Sora thought for a moment and then said, "Okay, here's how we'll do this. Riku, you go with Goofy for Valor. Kairi, you get Donald for Wisdom. And I'll stick with Mickey for Master."

"Oh sure take the best solo one for yourself," said Riku sarcastically. "Hey, like you said, I am the most experienced so that makes me a master," said Sora. "Fine, we'll do it your way," said Riku.

"There's one thing I'd like to know. Sora, what happens to Donald and Goofy whenever you use the Drive Forms? Where do they go when they disappear?" asked Kairi. "You know, Kairi, I never really thought of that," said Sora.

"What? You use our powers for those Drive Forms of yours and you never bothered to think about where we go?" asked Donald angrily.

"Now settle down, Donald. We had a lot of other things on our mind whenever Sora used our powers," said Goofy.

"I'm sorry I never asked before. You guys are my friends and I don't want you thinking that I didn't care," said Sora. "It's okay Sora. Isn't it Donald?" asked Goofy.

Donald thought for a few moments. The he smiled at Sora and said, "Yeah, it's okay."

"Well as good as it is to see all of you getting along, you really haven't answered Kairi's question. I'm a little curious about it myself," said Riku.

"Well, here's what I think happens. Whenever Sora uses one of those Drive Forms, I think Donald and I go inside his heart. When that happens, I feel like we become one with Sora and fight with him as part of him," said Goofy.

"Yeah. We see everything through Sora's eyes and move with him as he fights," added Donald.

"So whenever one of us uses a Drive Form, you end up inside us temporarily?" asked Kairi. "Yup. At least that's how we see it," said Goofy.

"Weird," said Riku. "It is pretty weird when you think about it. But the Drive Forms are one of the best ways to get out of tight situations," said Sora.

"Well, I'm ready to try it. So how about telling us how you activate it, Sora?" asked Kairi.

"That is easy enough explain, Kairi. Whenever I use a Drive Form, I focus on the bond I have with the friend I am using. I think about all we've gone through together and why they're so important to me. Then I call on the power of my friend and the Drive Form activates," explained Sora.

"Think about the bonds of friendship. Seems easy enough," said Riku. "I'm sure you and Kairi will get it on the first try. Also, it helps if you shout 'give me strength,' when it happens," said Sora.

"Okay guys, its ready!" called Max. The scoreboard in front of the control panel now had Sora, Riku and Kairi's names on it each with a zero following it.

"Hey Maxie! Don't forget yourself!" said Goofy. "Yeah, Max. Let's see you do in a little friendly competition against three Keybearers in Drive Form," said Riku.

"Okay," said Max as he typed some more on the control panel. Soon, his name joined the others on the scoreboard. Then Max ran onto the field.

"What program did you use, Max?" asked Mickey. "It just so happens I selected The Works," said Max.

"Gawrsh, that's a challengin' one. But I bet we're going to face even more challengin' enemies on our adventure so good choice son," said Goofy.

"Thanks Dad. It's set to start in one minute. Everybody come to the center here and face one of the discs on the corners. That's where the Target-Bots are going to appear. A horn will sound when it starts," he said.

Everyone stood in the center back to back. The Keybearers were side by side with their partners and they had their Keyblades out. Max had taken out his sword. All of them watched the discs in anticipation of what was going to happen.

"Okay everyone who's using the Drive Forms, prepare yourselves. Once you hear the horn, activate them. Let's see how much of these Target-Bots we can take out before they wear off," said Sora.

Sora, Riku and Kairi began to think on their experiences with the trio with Disney Castle. They all reflected on all the good times they enjoyed together and all the bad times they faced. Their adventures had forged strong bonds with their Disney Castle friends. And it was these bonds that would trigger the Drive Forms.

Finally, the sound of horn rang out through the field. At that point, Sora, Riku and Kairi shouted simultaneously, "Give me strength!"

Immediately at their call, their clothes burst into light. Mickey, Donald and Goofy vanished. Max shielded his eyes. When the light died down, the Destiny Islands trio's clothing had changed.

Sora's clothes had changed to bright yellow. He held the Kingdom Key in one hand while Mickey's Kingdom Key D floated in the air near his other hand attached by a yellow aura.

Riku's clothes were now red. In his hands, he held two Keyblades: his own Way to the Dawn and surprisingly, Oblivion. His headband had also changed color and had drifted down over his eyes.

Kairi's clothes had taken on the color blue. While she hadn't gained any Keyblades in addition to her Destiny's Embrace, her feet now hovered slightly above the ground on blue energy. In addition, her lucky charm was now glowing blue.

"It worked!" cheered Kairi. "You were right, Sora. There's nothing to it," said Riku.

"Congratulate yourselves later. The Drive Forms don't last forever so we'd better get to work," said Sora.

"Here come the Target-Bots!" shouted Max as he pointed to the metal discs. They were glowing as something materialized and stepped out.

They were a pack of robots with spherical bodies. Each of them had a big bull's-eye target on them. Jutting from the sides was a pair of arms with clamps for hands. However, the lower appendages varied for each robot.

Some had legs while others had a single wheel like a unicycle. Others were bouncing around on springs and some were even flying around on jet engines.

The three powered up Keybearers and Max then engaged their enemies. Due to the different abilities they had, they fought the Target-Bots each in a different style. Everytime a Target-Bot was destroyed, it faded away in an explosion of data

Since Master Form gave Sora the benefits of both physical and magical attacks, he used a mixture. Leaping into the air, he slashed at some of the flying Target-Bots with one Keyblade. With the others, he sent out a barrage of magic attacks toward opponents far away from him. Once he finished with his current opponent, he aerial dodged to the next one.

In spite of being deprived of magic in Valor Form, Riku fought valiantly. With incredible leaps and bounds, he utilized his two Keyblades and wiped out some of the bouncing Target-Bots. Every time he landed, he managed to take out some of the groundbased ones. The fact that he was blindfolded did not hinder him in the least.

Kairi, in the meantime, was having fun in her Wisdom Form as she moved like a figure skater on air. At the same time, she blasted all the varieties of Target-Bots with magical blasts from her Keyblade. There was something about gliding a couple of inches off the ground that felt incredible.

Max was also doing great in spite of not having a Drive Form or Keyblade. With his sword, he hacked and slashed at every Target-Bot he could get at. He even used a move similar to his father's Goofy Tornado only with a sword instead of a shield.

Sora finished off a flying Target-Bot and moved onto the next one. But before he could even attack it, Riku sliced through it from behind.

"Hey that was mine, Riku! Find your own!" shouted Sora. "Didn't see your name on it, Sora," said Riku with a smirk.

"Well you are blindfolded. How do you do it?" asked Sora. "Ask me sometime and maybe I'll show you," said the blindfolded Keybearer as he moved onto his next opponent.

Kairi zipped through the Target Bots blasted what she could. Spying a group of three in the sky, she raised her Keyblade up and a thunder spell burst from it. It vaporized the trio.

'Whoa! I've never used magic before and yet I'm doing it. But then again, Donald is currently part of me so I guess I have access to his knowledge. Guess it's good to get the feel of it before I try it on my own," said Kairi as she continued to fight.

As Max fought, he was in awe of the three Keybearers. His father had told him stories of them. But seeing them in action for the first time was breathtaking. 'I'd say we have a good chance of beating the darkness,' he thought.

They continued to fight until the colors vanished from the three Keybearers' clothing reverted back to normal and Mickey, Donald and Goofy reappeared on the field. Max noticed and shouted, "Time!"

Immediately, the remaining Target-Bots vanished. All was now quiet on the training field.

"So that was The Works, huh? Not a bad choice, Max," said Sora. "Glad you enjoyed it, Sora," said Max.

Kairi and Riku were bent over and trying to catch their breath. But they both had smiles on their faces.

"Whoa! Those Drive Forms really take a lot out of you," said Riku. "Yeah. But once you get use them a little more, you won't get as tired. Still, it's best to hold off on using them for awhile," said Sora.

"Still, that was exhilarating. I'd like to learn how to use magic next," said Kairi. "Then that's what we'll work on next," said Sora.

"Wait! Let's see how we did on the scoreboard," said Riku. Everyone turned their attention to the scoreboard and read the results.

In first place, according to it, was Sora with a total of sixty points. "All right! We did it, Mickey!" exclaimed Sora shaking hands with his Drive partner.

"You only got first 'cause you've done this before. It was Kairi's and my first time so keep that in mind, Keyblade master," said Riku.

In second place was Riku with a score of fifty seven points. "Nice. Guess your strength is a little greater than I thought, Goofy," said Riku. "Ahyuck! Thanks, Riku," said Goofy.

"Hey, check out who got third!" exclaimed Mickey. Everyone looked and to their surprise, Max had taken third with a score of fifty six points.

"Aw phooey! That means we got last place," said Donald as he crossed his arms and pouted.

"Don't be that way, Donald. It wasn't your fault. I'm just not as experienced in combat as the boys. But we didn't do too badly. We got fifty points," said Kairi.

"Nice work, Max," said Riku giving Max a high five. "Yup, he's a sure chip off the ol' blockhead, isn't he?" asked Goofy as he grabbed Max and gave him a noogie.

"Dad! Cut it out! It's embarrassing!" exclaimed Max. However, Max retained a smile on his face showing that he did appreciate his father's praise.

"You all did great. The Drive Forms will serve us well once we do a little more practice. But we should give them a rest. For now, let's focus on practicing magic next," said Mickey.

But before they could start, Tinker Bell flew right over to Mickey's face. She wore a frantic look.

"Mickey! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for it to happen!" she shouted. "What's wrong, Tink?" asked Mickey.

Tinker Bell pointed upwards. Everybody looked up and gasped. Pluto was rising high up into the sky. He was barking in a frightened tone. "Pluto!" called Mickey.

"What happened, Tink?" asked Kairi. "I was giving him some flying lessons like I said I was. He was doing quite well. But now he's lost control of his altitude," said Tinker Bell.

"He'll be in orbit if he keeps that ascent up," said Riku. "What are we going to do?" asked Max.

"Tink, you said that outside of Neverland, your pixie dust doesn't last too long. How long do you think until Pluto's does?" asked Sora.

"Let me think. I gave him some dust about ten minutes ago. So I'd say it should wear off about… right now," said Tinker Bell.

At the end of Tinker Bell's words, Pluto immediate stopped rising. Immediately, he started to plummet to the ground. He yowled in fear

"Quickly, grab onto this!" yelled Donald as he cast a spell with his staff. A large round fireman's net appeared on the ground. Sora, Riku, Goofy and Max quickly grabbed it and started to head directly under the falling dog.

After a few maneuvers and adjustments, they held the net underneath where they were sure to catch Pluto. "We can't miss!" yelled Goofy.

Sure enough, Pluto landed spot on the net. However, the net was apparently bouncier than it looked as the dog bounced off the net and off to the side. Pluto then landed right on Donald.

"Pluto! Are you okay?" asked Mickey as he and Kairi ran to the dog's side with Tinker Bell fluttering close behind them. Fortunately, he didn't appear to be hurt.

"You've got to work on your altitude control, boy. We'll work on it together," said Tinker Bell. "He must have been thinking some very happy thoughts," said Kairi scratching Pluto under the chin

"Good job, Donald! You broke Pluto's fall!" yelled Goofy happily. "Yeah, but it looks like the Pluto's fall broke Donald," said Max.

Everyone began to laugh. All except Donald who, while still below Pluto, frowned. "Why does this always happen to me?" he grumbled.

For all of them, it felt good to have a laugh. But they still had a lot to do to prepare for their upcoming adventure. Soon, they would have to begin training again for they were scheduled to depart on their adventure the following day.

_Author's Note: Poor Donald! Always gets the raw deal! Hope you liked how I explained how the Drive Forms work and sorry if you thought Kairi would score a little higher. I have nothing against her or the Wisdom Form. It just made sense for Kairi to be a little behind since Sora and Riku have had more experience fighting and Max has also been training longer than her. Stay tuned. We're going to look in on what the villains are up to next chapter._


	19. Ch 18: Xehanort's Experiments

**Chapter 18: Xehanort's Experiments**

**The World That Never Was**

Deep below the Castle of Light's Doom was a vast laboratory. All around were vast machinery of various designs, large computer screens and glass containers with floating hearts in them. And at the moment, the owner of the laboratory was sitting at a desk hard at work.

Xehanort, who was now wearing a white lab coat, was currently looking over some drawings he had made. They appeared to be designs for new forms of Heartless. Every now and then, he made small changes to their designs likely to increase their threat level.

All of a sudden, the sound of glass shattering filled the lab. Xehanort immediately got up from his desk and headed in the direction the sound came from. After a brief search, he found the cause.

Standing in the midst of a series of broken test tubes and beakers was a dark brown cat. It had green and yellow eyes and a bushy tail. It gazed guiltily up at Xehanort.

"Lucifer, you naughty feline. You know you're not supposed to be down here. Your mistress might be very saddened to hear if something bad happened to you. Like say, losing your heart?" asked Xehanort with a sinister smile on his face. Lucifer looked frightened at Xehanort's remark.

Xehanort picked up Lucifer and carried him under his arm to the doorway leading to the stairs. Standing on the bottom, he yelled upward, "Pain! Panic!"

Immediately in response, two small demons came running down the stairs. One was short, fat and red in color with short horns and a piece of his left wing missing. The other was tall, thin and green with long horns and a pointed nose.

"You called, Mr. Xehanort?" asked Panic. "Yes. Kindly take this cat back to his mistress and ask her to keep a closer eye on him," said Xehanort handing the cat to Pain.

"Come on, kitty. No need to bother Mr. Xehanort while he's working. He's working on something that'll help us bad guys take over the universe," said Pain as he and Panic walked back up the stairs with Lucifer in tow.

Xehanort turned around to go back to his desk. But before he could take a step, a burst of smoke appeared. Out of it stepped a man with gray skin, a black toga and blue fire for hair. "What do you want, Hades? I'm very busy," asked Xehanort.

"Xehanort, mi amigo! Can't the Lord of the Dead just pop in to say, 'Hey, how are ya?' to the man who set this whole gig up? But seriously, I may have had some brimstone in my ear just now but it really sounded like you were giving my minions orders," said Hades.

"You heard it clearly, Hades. I had need of some help and they were the first ones I thought of," said Xehanort calmly.

Hades' face contorted with anger as his skin became red. His hair burst into an orange burst of flames.

"How dare you! I'm the only one who tells Pain and Panic what to do! They're my minions! You have no right! You…" stopped Hades as a black hand grabbed his throat.

Xehanort had summoned his Guardian who clutched Hades' throat tightly. Hades' skin went back to normal and his flame went back to blue. The Herald of Darkness approached the god of the Underworld and looked him in the eye.

"Let me remind you, Hades that for my plans to work, we need to pool our resources. We cannot be focused on ownership. So as long as your minions are at this castle, they are at the whim of anyone who has need of them. Is that clear?" he asked as the Guardian released its grip.

Hades coughed and then his face broke into a grin. "Crystal. Hey you make a good point. Why should we be so exclusive in the minion department? Heck, maybe I'll even try bossing Maleficent's goons. Might be fun," he said.

"Didn't I send you on a recruitment mission?" asked Xehanort. "Well yeah you did and I just got back from it. Thing is that I tried scouring up some monsters. But there's hardly any left in Greece thanks to that do-gooder nephew of mine," said Hades.

"If you can't find any monsters still living, at least find something connected to them. A personal effect, a scale, a hair, a feather, a drop of blood; all of them would be perfect. Now leave me so I can get back to my work," said Xehanort.

"Hey, I'll find what you want. After all, you brought me in to this little get-together of dark forces and I'm grateful for it. So color me gone," said Hades as he vanished in a puff of smoke.

But just when Xehanort thought he was alone at last, Maleficent came down the stairs and into the laboratory. She sniffed the air.

"Judging from the scent of smoke in the air, am I correct in assuming Hades was here? And if he was, what did he want?" she asked.

"He had a problem with me giving Pain and Panic orders. I had to make it known that we share resources here," asked Xehanort.

"I see. Speaking of which, Xehanort, we have been working diligently on your requests. However, we do have some questions about the nature of some of them as well as what exactly you are doing here," said Maleficent.

"I have no secrets from my associates. Ask me anything and I will answer it," said Xehanort.

"Well, for one thing, some of us don't see the use in the caliber of beings we have recruited for our cause. The voodoo practitioner with the living shadow has potential as does that oversized chameleon. Even the old crone is an excellent chemist. But some like the imbecilic doctor and that horrid woman who brought her cat and her daughters are completely useless. Why did you send us to bring them to our organization?" asked the witch.

"There is a very good reason for it, Maleficent. Though some like you and Hades are able to provide much to our cause, some contribute only with their presence. As long as they have evil ambitions and darkness in their hearts, the Heartless and Nobodies will feast on it and grow stronger. The more we have, the better," said Xehanort.

"I guess that's as good an explanation as any. Now if you would shed some light, so to speak, on what you are doing down here. For example, what are those flowerlike pods for?" asked Maleficent pointing to an area of the laboratory.

In the indicated area, there were several ceramic constructs that resembled flowers. Some were bloomed and others were closed. Dark energy swirled with the closed ones. A round metal pedestal stood in front of all of them.

"Those are the Memory Pods. I based them on those in Castle Oblivion. They are the key to restoring some fallen comrades. The only thing I need is a something personal of the one I am restoring. I have several of our associates and Heartless and Nobodies searching for some right now," said the Herald.

As if on cue, two Heartless appeared in the laboratory: a Nightwalker and a Powerwild. Each of them had a item in their hands. The Nightwalker had a jagged sword. The Powerwild had a rusted shotgun.

"Excellent. Just in time for a demonstration," said Xehanort as he took the items from them and walked over to the pedestal in front of the Memory Pods.

"The sword of the Hun leader Shan-Yu and the gun of the hunter Clayton. Both fell at the hands of Sora and they will live again," said Xehanort.

Then he placed the sword on the pedestal. Almost immediately, the sword vanished. In response, one of the open Memory Pods closed and dark energy began to stir in it. The same thing happened when he placed the shotgun on the pedestal. The same thing happened when he placed the shotgun on the pedestal.

"The process utilized in the Memory Pods is similar to how you returned from the dead, Maleficent. The magical nature of the Mysterious Tower combined with your robe and the memories of the three fairies enabled you to return from the dead. Earlier I dispatched Memory Probes to other worlds to acquire memories of the evil ones. Those memories are fed into the Memory Pod and begin the process of resurrection. It'll take some time. But soon we'll have plenty of friends, old and new, among us once again," said Xehanort.

"Very interesting. And what about those?" asked Maleficent pointing to a large glass capsule. There were eleven floating hearts in it.

"Those are some other old friends. You can't imagine how hard it was to locate them. But now that I have them, I will construct powerful new Heartless forms for them. Now I have a question for you. Have you located Sora and his friends?" asked Xehanort.

"I am afraid not. They have left the islands, most likely with the king and his fools. But we cannot find any sign of them now," said Maleficent.

"They are likely in a place where darkness cannot permeate. Disney Castle, I assume. So the Keybearers on are on the move now so I really should resume my work. So if you'll excuse me," said Xehanort as he went back to his desk.

"As you wish, Xehanort. I have no further questions," said Maleficent. She then turned around and left through the exit. As she headed for the elevator carriage, her mind dwelled on what Xehanort had told her.

'He answered every single one of my questions. He may be too trusting of me and that could be his undoing. On the other hand, he may not be even remotely concerned about any kind of betrayal. It's frustrating that I can't seem to find any vulnerabilities in this Herald of Darkness,' thought Maleficent.

As Maleficent left the basement, she continued to mull over her treacherous thoughts. Her plans to overthrow Xehanort at the moment of their success were meaningless if she couldn't find a weakness. But she would bide her time and hopefully, she would find what she needed.

_Author's note: The plot thickens. Anyone want to guess who they've recruited besides the most obvious one or exactly whose hearts are in that capsule? Also, I am not putting any original characters in this fic aside from a few new Heartless and Nobody designs. What I am trying to do is create a breed of Nobodies for each of the deceased Organization members that we never got to see. I'm still working it out. Keep reading and reviewing please._


	20. Ch 19: A Network Between Worlds

**Chapter 19: A Network Between Worlds**

**Disney Castle**

The next morning, a loud rapping on the door woke Sora from his sleep. Sora stretched and yawned and then got up from his four-poster bed in a pretty fancy room. He was wearing white pajamas that had been provided for him.

He and his friends had definitely been given the royal treatment throughout their stay. After training, they were treated to a great feast and then shown to marvelous rooms to sleep. Every servant was at their beck and call although he found it weird that most of them were living brooms.

But as good as staying in Disney Castle was, Sora knew it couldn't last. He and his friends had a job to do. First of all, he had to see who was knocking on his door.

Sora walked over to the door and opened it. To his surprise, he saw no one threre. Then he looked downward and saw Louie.

"Morning Sora! Did I wake you?" asked the small duck. "Well you sort of did. But I guess an early start wouldn't hurt. What's up, Louie?" asked the sleepy Keybearer.

"King Mickey wants everyone to meet at the computer room. Huey and Dewey have already gotten Kairi and Riku up," said Louie. "Okay, I'll be there as soon as I get dressed," said Sora as he began to go back in the room.

"Uh, Sora? Do you know where the computer room is?" asked Louie. Sora stopped as he realized he really didn't know where it was.

"Heh. Guess I sort of don't," said Sora rubbing the back of his head with a grin of embarassment on his face. "Don't worry. I'll wait for you and then we'll go together," said Louie.

Sora gave a nod and then went back into his room. He immediately began to get dressed into his battle clothes.

Much later, a fully dressed Sora followed Louie through the castle until they reached a pair of doors. Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto and Tinker Bell were already there as was Huey and Dewey.

"Well, here it is, Sora. Now my brothers and I have to get back to our ice cream shop. But we'll come by to see you off when its time for you to go," said Louie as he and his brothers left. Everyone waved bye to the triplets.

"Well look who finally decided to show up. You really are a lazy bum, you know that Sora?" asked Riku. "Hey! Only Kairi can get away with calling me that!" exclaimed Sora.

"Oh is it her pet name for you?" asked Riku. "Watch it, Riku," said Sora who began to show hints of blushing.

"Gawrsh, Riku sure knows how to push Sora's buttons," said Goofy. "Yeah. But it's so entertaining," said Kairi who was all smiles.

Putting aside his annoyance at Riku, Sora turned to Mickey. "So Mickey, why did you want us here?" asked Sora.

"I thought, before we left for the Gummi hanger and left on our journey, that we would give a call to Squall and the gang from Radiant Garden. I'm sure they'll be glad to hear from you guys," said Mickey.

"Squall? That name sounds familiar. I think Yuffie called Leon that once," said Sora.

"It's his real name, Sora. His full name is Squall Leonheart. But when Radiant Garden fell to the Heartless in the past, he changed his name to Leon. He did it to distance himself from the man who let his world fall to darkness without a fight. But now that Radiant Garden is fully restored, he's resumed his old name," said Mickey.

"Well good for him. But how are we going to call them?" asked Kairi. "The answer is through these doors," said Donald as he pushed the doors open and allowed everyone to step inside.

The room was covered wall-to-wall with various machines and gadgets. The main attraction was a large computer screen up against the wall.

Typing on a keyboard was an elderly duck though not as old as Scrooge. He was wearing a white lab coat with a red vest underneath and he had glasses on his bill. Turning around, his bill broke into a smile.

"Hello there! You must be the Keybearers! I am very pleased to meet you," he said as he walked up to Sora, Riku and Kairi and shook their hands one by one. "Uh it's a pleasure to meet you Mr.…" said Sora.

"Professor. Professor Ludwig Von Drake at your service. And unless I am mistaken, which I highly doubt, you are Sora and these are your friends Riku and Kairi, am I correct?" asked Ludwig. "You are," said Riku.

"Ha ha! Of course I am right. Anyway, welcome to the Disney Castle computer room. All this machinery and fancy gizmos here are all part of one of my greatest creations: the Interworld Network. With it, we can communicate with any world through a computer," said Ludwig.

"That's amazing. So we can talk to anybody in the universe from this room, right?" asked Sora. "Well, as long as they have computers. I understand that some of the worlds out there are a little behind in the times. But for the more advanced worlds, it's no problem whatsoever," said Ludwig.

"Professor, we'd like to call Radiant Garden please," said Mickey. "Well, no sooner said than done, Your Majesty," said Ludwig as he walked back to the keyboard.

As Ludwig typed, he said into a nearby microphone, "Tron! We've got a call to set up!"

Sora's face gave a look of complete surprise. "Tron's here?" he asked. "Well of course he's here. I wouldn't say he was here if he wasn't," said Ludwig.

"Sorry. But I thought he was running Radiant Garden's computer system," said Sora.

"He is. But their system is now linked to ours through the Network. In fact, Tron is actually the program running the Network. I needed a reliable one to work it and Cid recommended Tron. Now if he would only show up," said Ludwig.

Ludwig then proceeded to pound on the keyboard. "Tron! We need you right now so get here right now!" he yelled.

After a few moments, an image appeared on the screen. It was of a man with light blue skin. He was wearing a gray helmet along with gray armor that had blue glowing lines covering it.

"It's about time! Where were you?" asked Ludwig. "I'm sorry for the delay, Professor. I was filing some new data the chipmunks transmitted to me," he said apologetically.

"Tron!" exclaimed Sora. The man then looked in Sora's direction. His face broke into a smile.

"Sora! It's so good to see you again. Am I correct in assuming that the Users with you are the Riku and Kairi that I've heard about?" asked Tron.

"You're right. Guys, this is Tron. He's a computer program with a mind of its own," said Sora. "The proper term is artificial intelligence," said Tron.

"It's very nice to meet you, Tron," said Kairi. "Sora, you definitely have made some weird friends over your travels. But I think this one takes the cake," said Riku.

"How have things been in your computer world, Tron? " asked Sora. "In a word, Sora: busy. Since I took over the MCP's duties in running the Radiant Garden system, it hasn't been easy. It's also hard running this Interworld Network as well. Fortunately, Users like Cid and Professor Von Drake have supplied me with various new functions that make the job a little easier. Although, they aren't the most patient Users to work with at times," said Tron.

"You mentioned receiving something from the chipmunks. What was it?" asked Sora.

"It was data on some of the worlds they've been scouting. They've been travelling the universe and researching the worlds out there. It's our goal to create a database of the known worlds out there. Your friend Jiminy Cricket's journal was a big help in starting it," said Tron.

"So that's what they're doing instead of being the Gummi Ship engineers," said Sora. "Yep. I thought they would be the perfect candidates to scout out the worlds since they would be the least conspicuous," said Mickey.

"But what about the pathways between worlds? Zeus said they were packed with enemy ships," said Kairi.

"Don't worry. Their ship is a prototype of what we're going to use so it can slip unnoticed by enemies. They'll be fine," said Mickey.

"A database of the universe, huh? That could come in handy," said Riku. "Wish we could bring that along on our adventure," said Kairi.

"You will. My assistant is currently working on a portable version you can take with you. Now that that's settled, let's put in that call to Radiant Garden. Tron, establish a link to Cid's computer in Radiant Garden," said Ludwig.

"Accessing now," said Tron as a plethora of virtual controls and buttons appeared on the screen in front of him. He began to press several of them in various sequences.

"It's going to take a bit of time. He is, after all, dialing long distance," said Ludwig.

"That is correct. I can travel between computers in no time at all. But to create a communication link does take some time. But it shouldn't be too long," said Tron as he worked.

As Tron continued to work, anticipation brewed within Sora. He hadn't seen his friends from Radiant Garden since after the incidents with the MCP and Sephiroth. They were the first friends he made on his first adventure and they had told him so much about what was going on.

After awhile, Tron said, "Connection established." Everyone immediately gathered around the computer screen as an image slowly came into view.

_Author's Note: We'll hear from the Radiant Garden gang and add the last party member next chapter. Then it's one chapter in the Gummi hanger, one chapter enroute and then it's the first Disney world. And it's one that has not been used at all in Kingdom Hearts. Keep reading._


	21. Ch 20: The Committee & The Chronicler

**Chapter 20: The Committee and the Chronicler**

Before everyone eyes, Tron's image on the computer screen was replaced by an image of a fortyish man. He had blond hair and was wearing a white shirt and goggles. He was also chewing on a toothpick. Upon seeing Sora and the gang, a smile came to his face.

"Well if it isn't the conquering heroes! How ya been?" asked Cid. "We're great Cid. How's everyone over there?" asked Sora.

"Well why don't you see for yourself? Hey everyone! You won't believe who's on the Network!" called Cid to the right.

Very soon, other members of the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee gathered around the screen. Leon, now known as Squall, was the first to arrive along with Yuffie, Aerith and Tifa. In the background, the Gullwings Yuna, Rikku and Paine fluttered around.

"Sora! It's so great to see you all again. When you left to fight the Organization, we all hoped for the best," said Yuffie. "Well, it wasn't an easy battle. But we beat them," said Sora.

"Kairi, looks like you're on board for this adventure," said Aerith. "You bet I am. I'm not letting these guys have all the fun this time," said Kairi.

"I'm guessing the silver-haired one is Riku. Glad to see he's on our side this time," said Squall.

Riku gave a bit of an uncomfortable laugh. He was about to speak up when Sora broke in.

"He certainly is. He spent a little too much time in the darkness. But he now walks, as he puts, the road to dawn Leon. I mean Squall," said Sora.

Squall chuckled and said, "Don't worry. You're not the first. I went by Leon for so long that it's taking some people to get used to calling me Squall again."

All of a sudden, the Gullwings flew right in front of everyone to the screen. "Hey Key Boy! You still owe us for our services!" yelled Yuna. "Yeah! We defected from Maleficent's side to help you battle those Heartless things!" chimed in Rikku. "Just because you saved the universe doesn't excuse you from your debts," said Paine.

"What? But I thought we settled this!" exclaimed Sora. The Gullwings then laughed at Sora's reactions.

"We did. We were just pulling your leg. We're all still learning that a good deed is its own reward. But you really can't buy anything with that," said Yuna.

"Okay you three, get out of the way! Go find something else to do!" yelled Cid. The Gullwings then flew off.

"So how have things been? Sora told me you guys were fixing up the place," said Kairi. "Curious to know how the repairs on your home world are coming, huh?" asked Yuffie.

Yuffie's words struck a nerve within Sora. 'That's right. Radiant Garden is Kairi's original home. I wonder if she'll want to return there when this is over,' he thought with a bit of dread.

"Well, we're pretty much finished repairing the damage from the last battle and people are starting to move back. We've also restored its namesake garden. It's been hard work. But it's worth it," said Yuffie.

"We're also making sure that everyone knows the truth about Ansem the Wise and Xehanort. It wasn't right that everyone believed that Ansem brought the Heartless. But we're making the truth known," said Aerith.

"That's good. Ansem's actions may not have been the most heroic. But I know at the end, all he wanted to do was set things right," said Riku.

"What about Cloud? Has he come back yet?" asked Sora. At that point, the committee's faces fell.

"Oh. He hasn't, huh?" asked Sora. He had been hoping that Cloud had finally beaten Sephiroth and come home to live in peace. But apparently he hadn't.

"We haven't seen him since that he and Sephiroth vanished," said Tifa. "But we're not giving up hope that he'll come back," said Aerith.

"But we really could use his help right now. The Council has told us that the forces of darkness have been stirring again and we've been making preparations for battle. Since this place has a nasty history with the Heartless and the Nobodies thanks to Xehanort, we believe it's just a big a target as one who has a Keyblade," said Squall.

"Wish we could come over there right now. But Master Yen Sid wants us to go where this special Gummi block leads us to," said Mickey.

"You do just that. I'm sure if we need you, you'll come right over," said Squall. "You guys do tend to show up at the right time," said Yuffie.

"Good luck to you all. We're rootin' for you and we hope to see you soon," said Cid. Everyone waved goodbye as the screen went blank.

"Guys, I think it's time we headed out. We've got worlds to save," said Sora. Everyone immediately turned around and began to head for the door.

"Wait! You can't leave yet! My assistant hasn't come with the portable database you need to take," said Ludwig.

"Sorry, Ludwig. I don't think we can wait any longer. The worlds are in danger and we have to get going," said Goofy.

But before they could leave, they heard the door open up behind them. Accompanying it was a voice saying, "The Keybearers and the King are going to love this portable version of the Universal Database."

A new face had entered the computer room. This one was a short-beaked crane dressed in a pink shirt, a black vest and blue pants. He also wore a yellow straw hat on his head. Upon being viewed by the party, he seemed surprise.

"Oh! You're here already! Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Gyro Gearloose, Professor Von Drake's assistant," said the crane.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Gyro. I'm Sora and this is Riku and Kairi," said Sora.

"Seems we're going to be doing a lot of introducing on this adventure," said Riku. "Yeah. But it's the first step to making a new friend. And I bet we're going to make lots," said Kairi.

"I know who you all are. A friend of yours told me," said Gyro as he pointed to the top of his hat. Immediately, someone very small leapt from the top of it and landed on the floor. Sora smiled as he saw who it was.

"Jiminy!" he exclaimed. "Hello, Sora. And greetings to Riku and Kairi as well. I don't suppose you have room for a chronicler on your journey," said the cricket.

"Of course! You've been with us for our past adventures, we wouldn't dream of leaving you out. But won't this take you away from your duties as Pinocchio's conscience?" asked Sora.

"Nope. He'll be fine without me. He's been doing pretty well on his own since becoming a real boy," said Jiminy.

"He became a real boy? That's great news!" exclaimed Goofy. "Indeed it is. It happened while I was on our adventures together. I'm so proud of him," said Jiminy.

"Well, we're glad to have you aboard, Jiminy," said Mickey. "Yeah. It'll be nice to have someone closer to my size on this trip," said Tinker Bell.

Pluto immediately lay down on the ground. Jiminy understood the gesture and leapt over to the dog and boarded his back.

"Oh Your Majesty! I've got something for you," said Gyro as he walked over to Mickey and handed him something.

It looked like a small rectangular laptop computer the size of a pencil case. Mickey opened it up revealing a screen and a keyboard.

"Ah you managed to finish it in time, Gyro," said Ludwig. "Yes. I just had to make a few minor adjustments. But it's ready to go," said Gyro.

"So this is a portable version of your Universal Database, is it? We'll be able to access all the data on the worlds?" asked Riku.

"Well, just the worlds that have been covered in Jiminy's journal and those that have been researched by Chip and Dale. It would be a big help if you could fill in the blanks on your adventure," said Gyro.

"We'll do that, Gyro," said Donald. "Yeah. It'll save Chip and Dale the trouble of researchin' a world that we've already been to," said Goofy.

"I'll continue to take notes on our adventures. The rest of you can type them up on that gizmo. I guess I'm just an old-fashioned cricket," piped up Jiminy.

"In addition, it can function as a communication device. You'll be able to call up Tron and he can link you here or to Radiant Garden. Communication is important in these difficult times," said Ludwig.

"Thank you so much for giving this to us. We'll use it well," said Sora. "I know you will. And I must say, it's an honor to do something for the heroes of the universe," said Gyro.

"All right, everyone. It's time we headed off. Worlds are counting on us and let's not leave them hanging. Onto the Gummi hanger," said Mickey.

The three teens, the mouse, the duck, the two dogs, the cricket and the fairy headed for the doors of the computer room while Ludwig and Gyro waved goodbye. They had learned much from their visit with the two birds of science. Now it was time to go to the Gummi hanger and depart on their adventure.

_Author's Note: Didn't expect Gyro Gearloose, didn't you. And you won't be expecting who Chip and Dale's replacement's are. No flames if you don't approve please! Read and review! Still requesting requests for Disney cameos!_


	22. Ch 21: The Wings of Destiny

**Chapter 21: The Wings of Destiny**

After a short walk, everyone entered the Gummi hanger. Sora noticed it was a lot bigger than the last time he was here. Then he saw the reason.

In the center of the hanger was the largest Gummi Ship he had ever seen. Its main body was about the size of a house. It was rectangular in shape and colored silver with box shaped windows. It had a long pointed nose and a pair of arrowhead shaped wings. A large jet engine was attached to the rear. A glass windshield up front indicated the location of the cockpit.

"Whoa! That's a big Gummi ship!" exclaimed Sora. "Yep. The engineers designed it so it could also act as a mobile headquarters. But don't take my word for it. I'll let them explain the features," said Mickey.

The party walked down the stairs toward the large Gummi Ship. Soon, they saw someone near the entrance to the Gummi ship.

He looked like a boy about ten years old. He was wearing an orange and white striped shirt and blue shorts. He had red hair on top of an unusual triangle shaped head.

Lying on the ground nearby was an odd animal. It had greenish-blue fur with a tangerine bill like that of a duck and a tail like that of a beaver. It had a blank stare on its face.

"Hello Phineas! How's the ship coming along?" asked Mickey. The boy turned around to face the party and his face broke into a wide smile.

"Oh King Mickey! Good to see you! We just finished installing that special Gummi block and Ferb's now giving the ship a final check. Hey Ferb! The king and his friends are here," called Phineas to the ship's entrance.

Out of the entrance came another boy about Phineas' age. He was wearing a white shirt and purple pants that seemed to be pulled up over his waist. His head was tall and he had green hair. One of his eyes seemed to be bigger than the other. He ran over to Phineas' side.

"So Ferb, is it ready to launch?" asked Phineas. Ferb then gave a thumbs-up in response. "Excellent!" said Phineas.

"Sora, Riku, Kairi, I'd like you to meet Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher. They're a pair of stepbrothers who do amazing things," said Mickey.

"So you're the Keybearers we've been hearing about. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," said Phineas as he and Ferb shook hands with Sora and his friends.

"Uh likewise," said Sora. He was surprised to find that the new engineers were kids younger than him.

"If you don't mind me asking, aren't you a little young to be a Gummi ship engineer?" asked Riku. "Yes. Yes I am," said Phineas matter-of-factly.

"On the contrary, weren't you a little young to be saving the universe?" asked Ferb in a deep English accented voice. "Touché," said Kairi with a smile.

"Now don't be underestimatin' these boys. From what they've told us about what they've done, they can do anything they set their minds too," said Goofy.

"He's right. We've done plenty of big stuff during our summer vacation. We've built a rollercoaster, a rocket ship, and even giant tree house robots all in the span of a single day respectively," said Phineas. "Boy you boys work fast," said Kairi.

"Uh huh. Basically, we never want to waste a day though we did take our time with the Gummi ship here. But that's only because we wanted to make sure we did a good job. Besides, helping you guys save the universe seems like a great way to spend our summer," said Phineas.

"Well, we appreciate you taking time off from your vacation to help us, Phineas. But can I ask you just one more question: what is that odd creature with you?" asked Sora indicating the duck-beaver hybrid that was lying on the floor.

Immediately the creature gave a noise that sounded like an aggravated purr. "It even sounds odd," said Riku. "Oh this is Perry, our pet platypus," said Phineas.

"Aren't those the mammals that lay eggs?" asked Riku. "Yes they are. But he really doesn't do much," said Phineas.

"Boy, whatever world you guys are from, it sounds like an interesting place," said Sora. "Danville is a pretty nice place. Hopefully, you'll visit it on your adventure," said Phineas.

"I don't think you'd want that, Phineas. If we show up, it'll likely be because you guys have a problem with the forces of darkness," said Kairi.

"Oh don't worry. Aside from the Gummi ship engineering, we're also formulating plans to defend ourselves should those Heartless and Nobody things show up. They're all based on some of our previous ideas. We're also working on a fleet of unmanned Gummi ships to help clear out the pathways between worlds of enemy ships. It's all going to work out. It always does," said Phineas.

"I admire your optimism Phineas. I'm glad that you and Ferb are on board. Now how about telling us about this Gummi ship you built. Mickey said it was like a mobile headquarters," said Sora.

"Yes it is. This Gummi ship has everything you need for a long adventure. Aside from the standard Gummi features such as warp drive and various weapons, it also comes with sleeping quarters as well as showers and washroom facilities. It's equipped with food and drink machines with a variety of delectable choices. It also has an entertainment unit with a great selection of video games to pass the time on the way between worlds. They're all non-addictive so you don't lose focus on your mission. It also has cup holders in the cockpit. With all these extras, you can now travel the universe in style and comfort," said Phineas.

"Impressive. But what about getting past all those enemy ships in the pathways between worlds?" asked Riku.

"We also have that covered. This Gummi ship is equipped with the best stealth tech that Ferb and I designed. You can fly through the pathways and those enemy ships will never know you're there. In fact, you could even pass right through them. Ferb and I used our old intangibility technology on this. This Gummi ship has everything you might need except for one small thing," said Phineas.

"What's that?" asked Sora. "A name. A worthy vessel such as this is deserving of a worthy name. We thought we should leave that up to you guys since you'll be the ones using it," said Phineas.

"How about Highwind?" asked Riku. "Oh that's your name for everything. Can't you think of anything else?" asked Sora. "Oh like your names are any better," shot back Riku.

"We should name it Kingdom!" chimed in Donald. "Uh Donald, that was the name of our old Gummi ship," said Goofy.

"How does this one sound: the Wings of Destiny?" asked Kairi. "Where did you come up with that one, Kairi?" asked Sora.

"Well, it all has to do with what Master Yen Sid wants us to do. Instead of going to a specific destination, we're supposed to go where we're needed as determined by that Gummi block. Hence the Wings of Destiny," said Kairi.

"Well I can get behind that name," said Sora. "Me too. Sounds perfect," said Riku. Everyone else gave their assent.

"All right. Then we christen this the good ship Wings of Destiny," said Phineas. With that, Ferb took out a bottle of soda pop and smashed it against the Gummi ship.

"I call pilot!" yelled Sora as he ran toward the entrance. However, he was held back by Riku.

"Hey why do you get to be the pilot? Why don't you let someone else have a chance?" asked Riku. "Because you haven't piloted a Gummi ship before," said Sora. "That doesn't mean I don't want to try," said Riku.

"Why should you get to be the pilot? Why not Goofy or I?" asked Donald. Then Donald realized how silly he sounded at the thought of Goofy driving the Gummi ship. "Okay, just me then," said Donald.

At that point, Sora, Riku and Donald began to argue over who was to be a pilot. The others just looked at the immaturity of the situation.

"You guys do realize that the Gummi ship is going to drive itself, do you? We did install that special Gummi," said Phineas. "We know that. But someone's still got to sit up in the cockpit for takeoffs," said Sora.

"Then in that case, I think Kairi should get the first go. After all, she came up with the name for our ship so she should be the one to take us off," said Mickey.

Sora, Riku and Donald stopped arguing as Mickey's words set in. "I guess that's fair," said Sora. Donald and Riku nodded in agreement.

"But Mickey, I've never flown a Gummi ship before," said Kairi. "Don't worry. I'll sit up in the cockpit with you and walk you through it. It's pretty easy," said Mickey.

"Yeah, Kairi. If Sora and Donald can pilot one of these things, it shouldn't be too hard," said Riku.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" asked Sora. "Yeah!" added Donald as everyone chuckled.

Much later, Kairi and Mickey sat in the cockpit. Kairi sat in the pilot's seat while Mickey was in the copilot's seat. Mickey pressed a button and spoke into an intercom, "Everyone got their seatbelts fastened and ready for takeoff?"

In the room behind the cockpit, Sora, Riku, Donald, and Goofy were seated and fastening their seatbelts. Pluto was even buckled into a seat and Jiminy and Tinkerbell were sharing a seat. "Yes!" they all clamored.

Sora then took a look out a nearby window. "Hey everyone! Check it out!" he exclaimed.

Everyone looked and saw that a congregation had gathered in the Gummi hanger. Queen Minnie, Daisy, Max, Huey, Dewey, Louie, Scrooge, Ludwig and Gyro had joined Phineas and Ferb and they were all waving goodbye. A few of the brooms had even showed up.

"Wow. Seeing all of them made me realize just how many people are counting on us," said Sora. "We won't let them down, Sora. We haven't yet and we're not going to start now," said Jiminy.

Suddenly, the Gummi ship's engines turned on. "Everyone brace yourself. Takeoffs can be a little bumpy," said Goofy.

Outside, the ceiling began to part revealing the sky above. The Wings of Destiny lifted upward through the opening and into the sky.

In the cockpit, Kairi grasped the steering mechanism tightly. Like anyone doing something big for the first time she was nervous.

The Sora's voice came out of the intercom. "You're doing good, Kairi. Just keep it up," it said.

Sora's encouraging words gave Kairi an enormous sense of relief. Somehow, his voice always had that effect. Her confidence in place, she tilted the Gummi Ship and propelled it skyward toward space.

Back in the hanger, Minnie and the others watched as the ship left. "I do hope they'll be okay," she said with a hint of concern in her voice. "They'll be fine, Minnie. They haven't let us down yet," said Daisy.

"Besides, they've got something more powerful than their Gummi ship or their Keyblades. They've got their friendship and they've often proven that is their greatest weapon," said Scrooge.

Minnie allowed herself to smile. "You're right. Now we all have our own duties so I suggest we get to it," said the queen.

Everyone nodded in agreement. They immediately all left to attend to other business.

Soon, the only ones left in the hanger were Phineas and Ferb. Though the ship was out of sight, they just stood watching the sky with looks of pride on their faces.

"Well Ferb, I guess we can categorize this project as a success. I wish we could have gone with them. But we have other things to do today. So let's get to work on that fleet of remote controlled Gummi ships so we can clear out the pathways between the worlds," said Phineas. Ferb gave a thumbs-up.

But before they left to work on their next project, they noticed something was missing. "Hey, where's Perry?" asked Phineas. Ferb shrugged.

Indeed the platypus was no longer in sight. This often happened in their own world.

"Well he's probably just off exploring the castle. This is his first time in another world so we can't blame him for being curious. I'm sure he'll turn up later. Let's build us some Gummi ships," said Phineas.

The two talented stepbrothers then went off to do their work. The locating of their pet monotreme would have to wait. They, like so many others, had jobs to do in the upcoming battle against the darkness.

_Author's note: Hope you guys aren't against having Phineas and Ferb in the story. I'm just a big fan of the show (among many other things Disney). And if any of you are fans of Perry the Platypus, his whereabouts will be addressed in a later chapter. Read and review! But do be nice please!_


	23. Ch 22: Strategy Session Enroute

**Chapter 22: Strategy Session Enroute**

**The Pathways Between Worlds**

Far above the world known as Disney Castle, the Wings of Destiny was now in the odd space that surrounded all worlds. This was known as the Pathways Between Worlds which was the road the adventurers would be taking in their Gummi Ship.

In the cockpit, Kairi was glancing around in amazement. The scenery was breathtaking but she was more amazed that she had succeeded in bringing the Gummi Ship up this high.

"Nice work, Kairi. Now if you would do the honors and send this ship on its way to its first destination," said Mickey indicating a spot on the dashboard where Merlin's navigational Gummi was installed.

"Gladly, Mickey," said Kairi as she summoned her Destiny's Embrace to her hand. Remembering Merlin's instructions, she touched the tip of her Keyblade to the Gummi block. Upon contact, a brief sparkle of light appeared between the block and the Keyblade.

Suddenly, the Gummi Ship entered into its warp drive. Kairi and Mickey were momentarily taken aback by the increase in speed and held on. But they soon relaxed.

"We have begun our flight to our first destination. You are all now free to move about," said Mickey into the intercom.

Then the mouse king turned to Kairi and said, "You can go back there, Kairi. I'll take over and keep watch. Though the ship is flying itself, we should always have someone up here just in case something happens. In the meantime, you'd better get something to eat."

"Yeah we sort of left without having breakfast. You want me to bring you anything?" asked Kairi. "That would be very nice of you," said Mickey.

Kairi then left the pilot's seat which was then taken by Mickey. Heading for the cockpit door, the sole female Keybearer opened it and stepped out into the main cabin of the Gummi Ship. She saw that everyone else had the same idea of getting breakfast.

Sora, Riku, Donald and Goofy were eating on a table while on a smaller table on it, Jiminy and Tinker Bell were dining. Pluto was eating from a bowl of dog food on the floor. "Good food, guys?" asked Kairi.

"You bet! The stuff that those food machines make is awesome!" said Sora between mouthfuls of pancakes. "Yeah. They can provide or make anything you want. Phineas and Ferb really outdid themselves," said Jiminy.

"I'll join you in a moment. I'm just going to get something for Mickey. He's on lookout duty," said Kairi as she headed for the food and drink machines.

"He's pretty fond of cheese omelettes so he'd appreciate it if that's what you got him," said Goofy. "Thanks for telling me," said Kairi as she proceeded to use the machines to make just that as well as something for herself.

"You know, while we're waiting to arrive, I think we should plan our strategy. We could be on our way to an unfamiliar world that you guys currently don't have any allies on," said Riku.

"That's a good idea, Riku. It's always good to have a plan. But shouldn't we discuss this when all of us are here?" asked Jiminy.

"I can hear you and I'll be with you in a second," said Kairi as she took a tray with a cheese omelette toward the cockpit door. "So can I. So continue as if I was with you," said Mickey over the intercom.

"Why do we need a plan? We know what we have to do: wipe out as many Heartless and Nobodies as possible and find, seal and reinforce the Keyhole," said Donald. "Uh Donald, it's never that simple," said Goofy.

"Goofy's right. Though it may seem like an simple mission, it always tends to become more complicated because the situation is different for every world. So while we will have to adapt for every world, we will need a basic plan. So any ideas?" asked Sora.

"Well, I believe the best thing to do would to seek some local help. It was a big help whenever we had a friend like Aladdin or Ariel to guide us," said Goofy.

"Great idea, Goofy. And it always is good to make new friends. But what if our investigation requires us to split up?" asked Kairi as she returned to the table with a plate of her own food.

"Well if it comes to that, here's what I think is the best thing to do: we always take a partner for the Drive Forms with us. We'll alternate so you and Riku can strengthen all of your Forms," said Sora.

"Hey! Don't leave us and Pluto out of it," said Tinker Bell drawing attention to herself and Jiminy. Pluto barked in agreement.

"I'm planning to do a little more than just chronicle our adventures this time, Sora. Being small, I can get into many places without being seen so I can act as your scout," said Jiminy.

"Same goes for me. I'm more than just a source of pixie dust for your flying needs. I can also scout for you from the air as well as use my tinkering abilities when it becomes necessary," said Tinker Bell.

"And Pluto is a good tracker so he can sniff out anything suspicious or dangerous," said Donald. Pluto barked in agreement.

"Don't worry. We won't count you guys out. If we have to split up, we'll make sure we send you along with whatever team will need you. Everyone of us is important on this adventure," said Sora.

"I have a question. What about situations that require one of us to use the Final Form? It may be strong. But we will be shorthanded if one of us engages it," asked Riku.

"We'll save that one for emergencies. If we're caught in a battle that needs the Final Form to win, first one of us to realize that engages it," said Sora. "That sounds like a good plan," said Kairi.

"We're also supposed to look for any clues as to who's behind this mess. A good example would be anyone that doesn't look like they belong to the world we're visitin'," said Goofy.

"And we should also keep an eye out for anyone within the world who could be a candidate for attracting the dark forces. Beings with an overabundance of darkness in their hearts tend to draw a lot of Heartless and they eventually take control of them," said Riku.

"Boy, you were right. Our missions are never easy. We have so many things to do and look for," said Donald.

"That may be true, Donald. But I'm sure if we hold together and never give up, the darkness won't stand a chance," said Kairi. "That's the spirit, Kairi," said Sora.

The group continued to eat their breakfast as the Gummi Ship continued on its voyage. Once in a while, the members of the party would glance out the window at the scenery outside.

As it turned out, Zeus was correct. There was a great abundance of Heartless and Nobody ships through the Pathways. They were in far greater number than they had ever seen.

"I can't believe how bad things have gotten. If it weren't for Phineas and Ferb's stealth technology, we would be creamed," said Sora. "Yup. Good thing for us it's workin'," said Goofy.

"Don't worry too much about them, guys. Mickey's keeping an eye out for any trouble. In the meantime, how about we try out those video games while we wait to arrive," said Kairi.

Everyone agreed with Kairi's game proposal. However, before they could even move, the Gummi Ship began to slow down until it came to a complete stop.

"Looks like it'll have to wait. It looks like we've arrived," said Goofy. "Sure does. Let's load up our breakfast dishes in the dishwasher and get ready to go," said Kairi.

As everyone gathered up their dishes and took them over to the dishwasher, Mickey stepped out of the cockpit. He too had some dishes to add. "Guess you guys figured out we've arrived at our first destination," he said.

"Yes we did, Mickey. So what world have we ended up at? Radiant Garden? Port Royal? Olympus Coliseum? Halloween Town? Beast's Castle?" asked Sora.

"None of those, Sora. In fact, this is a world you haven't been to before," said Mickey.

"Really. So what's it like?" asked Kairi. "It seems to be a pretty forested world. But I picked up really large darkness readings. The Heartless are definitely down there and if they have Nobodies as allies, that world's in real trouble," said Mickey.

"Then let's get going. Whatever the bad guys are up to down there, we've got to put a stop to it," said Sora.

Everyone agreed and quickly loaded up their dishes in the dishwasher. Once that was done, they all headed in the direction of the beam transporter that would send them down to the world.

Seeing as this was a whole new world for them, they didn't know what to expect. But with luck, by the time they found the world's Keyhole, they would have vanquished the dark forces as well as make a few new friends.

_Author's Note: I know. Boring chapter isn't it? But next chapter we get some action as we explore a whole new Disney world. Keep readin' and reviewin'._


	24. Ch 23: Skirmish in the Forest

**Chapter 23: Skirmish in the Forest**

**The Powhatan Nation**

After beaming down from the Wings of Destiny, the party found themselves within the new world. True to Mickey's words, it was a very large forested world. Tall trees grew all around them and the only sounds that were heard were the natural ambience of birds. The world looked unspoiled by any kind of civilization.

As they walked, Mickey had the portable database out and was trying to bring up any information. But to his dismay, the screen displayed the message, 'No Data.'

"Looks like Chip and Dale haven't scouted this world yet. Guess that means it's up to us to catalogue it," said Mickey. "I'm already taking notes, Mickey," said Jiminy who was riding on Pluto's back and was writing in his journal.

"This place sure is peaceful," said Kairi. "Well it won't be peaceful for long. You heard Mickey back on the ship. The Heartless are here and we've got to stop them," said Riku.

"Well shouldn't we start looking for some help?" asked Goofy. "From the looks of this place, it doesn't look like anybody lives here," said Donald.

"Don't judge a book by its cover, Donald. The Deep Jungle didn't look like it had anybody living in it at first. But we were wrong when we met Tarzan and Jane," said Jiminy.

"Look over there!" yelled Riku pointing with his Keyblade. Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing and saw the first sign of trouble.

In front of them was a trio of Creeper Nobodies. They hadn't noticed the group of heroes. Instead, they just continued to crawl casually through the forest.

"Looks like we'd better get started on exterminating the enemy. Let's get them!" yelled Sora as the group drew their weapons and charged after the Creepers.

The Creepers took notice of the oncoming heroes. But instead of attacking, they sped up and crawled away further into the forest.

The heroes pursued the Creepers further into the forest. The pursuit continued until they followed the Nobodies into a large glade alongside a river. The Creepers then vanished behind a large tree.

"Odd that they're not fighting us and instead running away," said Kairi. "Seems that the Nobodies are getting smarter. They won't mess with us since we've beaten them time and again," said Donald full of pride.

But as they rounded the tree, their faces fell. "Oh they're getting smarter all right. Smart enough to lead us into an ambush," said Riku.

Standing before the group was a group of Heartless and Nobodies. There were more Creepers alongside a pack of Soldier Heartless as well as a larger variant of them known as Sergeants. A row of Creeper Plants sprang up from the ground.

Up in the tree's branches was a new type of Heartless. They looked like dark brown feathered hawks with the infamous Heartless insignia on their chests. Their talons resembled rows of daggers and their beaks looked like spearheads which gave them the name Spear Hawks.

"Okay gang, let's do what we do best. Charge!" yelled Sora as the party leapt into battle at the same time their enemies did.

Sora advanced to a nearby Sergeant and began to slash at it with his Keyblade. The Sergeant took some damage but immediately began to counterattack with its clawed hands.

But before it could lay a claw on Sora, Tinker Bell flew in front of its glowing eyes and let out a quick burst of light. Blinded, the Sergeant stumbled backward and allowed Sora to attack it even more.

The Spear Hawks, in the meantime, attacked by dive bombing toward Donald and Goofy. But before their sharp beaks could pierce them, Goofy blocked them with his shield.

Donald then took advantage of the Spear Hawks' momentary stunning and fired a Thunder spell at them. Their metal beaks acted as excellent conductors for the lightning.

Being relatively new at fighting, Kairi attacked the least mobile of their foes: the Creeper Plants. Though they spat out seeds at her, she blocked each of them while swiping her Keyblade at them.

Alongside her, Pluto was adding in his help in spite of not carrying a weapon. Grabbing a Creeper Plant by the stem in his mouth, he attempted to uproot it. "Pull Pluto! Pull!" encouraged Jiminy from Pluto's back.

Riku and Mickey fought with the swarming Soldiers and Creepers. To their surprise, the Soldiers worked together as effectively as the Creepers. It confirmed Riku's suspicions that their enemies were getting smarter.

The battle continued and the party found that like on the Destiny Islands, their foes were stronger than normal. Still, they did not give in and eventually, their enemies began to dissipate into darkness.

After finishing off a Creeper, Riku moved onto the next one. But to his surprise, the Creeper, alongside others, leapt into the air and immediately transformed into a crossbow toting Snipers.

"Guys, be careful! They have the power of evolution!" he exclaimed as he braced himself for an onslaught of laser projectiles.

The Nobodies weren't the only ones using evolution abilities. The Creeper Plant that Pluto was still trying to uproot grew larger in size until it became a Poison Plant. The dog immediately let go and ran away just as Kairi charged in to engage it.

"Plantlike Heartless are very vulnerable to Fire magic!" yelled out Sora to Kairi as he continued to fight the Sergeants. He used Blizzard magic to freeze one and beat on it until it burst.

"Thanks for the tip. So I guess I'm going to have to bring the heat!" shouted Kairi as she pointed her Keyblade at the Poison Plant and the Creeper Plants. Fireballs erupted from the tip and struck the plant Heartless.

The Creeper Plants immediately were destroyed. The large Poison Plant however, just caught fire instead. Kairi immediately began to attack it to further its demise.

Riku and Mickey took it upon themselves to take out the Snipers. Whenever the Snipers attempted to fire their laser projectiles, they would dart in front of them and reflect their projectiles back at them. It took a few projectiles but eventually the Snipers met their ends at the power of their own weapons.

The Spear Hawks continued to pester Donald and Goofy as well as the Soldiers that had shifted their focus to the wizard and the knight. But Donald continued to use Thunder spells against all of them while Goofy used his Goofy Tornado move to take out several Soldiers

The battle continued until the enemy numbers had dwindled to a trio of Soldiers and a pair of Spear Hawks. The party made their stand to finish them off. But to their surprise, the Heartless turned around and ran away in the opposite direction.

"That's the first time I've seen Heartless run away from a battle," said Mickey. "Riku's right. They are all getting smarter. Since we took out the big fighters as well as most of the minor ones, they decided it was better to retreat. I guess the Heartless who fights and runs away lives to steal hearts another day," said Kairi.

"Well, we're not going to let them do that. Let's hunt some Heartless," said Sora. Everyone nodded and immediately began to run in the direction the Heartless had gone.

Suddenly, both Riku and Donald fell down and landed on their chests. "Hey Donald, watch where you're putting those webbed feet! You tripped me!" yelled Riku.

"I did not. We tripped over the roots of that tree!" Donald yelled back. "Oh sure. The tree just felt like lifting its roots and…" stopped Riku as he looked back.

Sure enough, there was a root that hadn't been there before. Even more unsettling was the fact that it suddenly lowered back into the ground. Donald and Riku gazed at it with unsettled looks.

"Uh guys, I think we're in the presence of a giant Heartless," said Riku. "It must be this tree!" yelled Donald.

All of a sudden, the two of them were whipped in the rears by the trees branches. As the two of them grabbed their rear in pain, a voice similar to an elderly woman's rang out through the glade.

"I am no Heartless. I was simply trying to get your attention!" it yelled. Everyone looked around for the source of the voice.

"Wait a minute. I know that voice," said Kairi as her eyes darted to an area on the tree. In response, a face appeared. It was the face of someone they knew.

"Grandmother Willow!" exclaimed Goofy as he recognized the unusual member of the Council. "So this is your world," said Sora. "Indeed it is, Sora. Welcome to the Powhatan Nation," said the old tree.

"Uh sorry for calling you a Heartless, Grandmother Willow," said Riku. "That is all right, Riku. After a battle like that, I can see why you all expect trouble from the slightest thing out of the ordinary," said Grandmother Willow.

"Not to state the obvious, Grandmother Willow, but you definitely have a problem with the Heartless and Nobodies around here," said Kairi. "Yeah, it's a good thing they didn't find you," said Sora.

"Very true. I thank you all for chasing those nasty things out of my glade. Now that they're gone, I can show myself safely. Wouldn't want those horrid things stealing my heart now, wouldn't I?" asked the tree.

"Grandmother Willow, it's fortunate we ran into you. We'd like to know a little more about this world and how serious the darkness problem is," said Mickey.

"I'd be glad to provide my assistance. Gather around young ones and I shall tell you everything I know and what the spirits have told me," said Grandmother Willow.

Everyone gathered in front of the old tree and got ready to listen intently to what she had to say. They had hoped to find someone native to the world to help them. And it was fortunate that in this new world, they found someone who already knew them.

_Author's note: So the first world is Pocahontas' world. But you could have probably guessed that by the world name at the start. I hope the battle was good to read. Like I said before, battle scenes aren't currently my forte. I hope to get better. In case you are wondering, Xehanort isn't currently watching them. The powers of Darkness Evolution have been given to select Heartless and Nobodies that they can trigger whenever they need it. Keep readin' and reviewin'._


	25. Ch 24: Grandmother Willow's Advice

**Chapter 24: Grandmother Willow's Advice**

"First thing you should all know is that contrary to what you have seen, this land is not uninhabited by humans. For generations, this land has been occupied by the Powhatan tribe. They are a peaceful tribe and have lived with the land according to their ancient ways for as long as I have been here," said Grandmother Willow.

"Maybe we should go talk to them. We could use a guide around here if they know the land pretty well. No offense, Grandmother Willow, but we could use someone a little more mobile," said Donald.

"No offense taken, Donald. But at this time, I'm not sure it would be a good idea for strangers like you to go near the village. With what has happened recently will most definitely make the tribe wary even untrusting of strangers," said the tree.

"You mean the Heartless and the Nobodies?" asked Kairi. "More than that, I'm afraid, Kairi," said Grandmother Willow.

"What's been going on?" asked Riku. "The spirits of the land have told me of a group of strange pale-skinned men that have come to our shores from across the salt water. Since their arrival, they have caused much destruction to the land. They have felled trees and dug up the earth. For what purpose I do not know. But it looks like they intend to make the land their own," said Grandmother Willow.

"From the sound of things, we can assume that the Powhatan tribe is not going to welcome them with open arms," said Goofy. "If we know anything from what we've learned in school, sharing land is not one of human beings' strong suits," said Sora.

"The situation is more dire than you think. Around the same time these strangers arrived, the Heartless and the Nobodies showed up as well. And they've been attacking the Powhatan tribe," said Grandmother Willow.

"Gosh. Do you think someone among the settlers is controlling the Heartless or at least attracting them?" asked Jiminy.

"I do not know. It is certainly coincidental that the dark forces' arrive at the same time as the settlers. I am not going to place blame on anyone until I know more. But if I know the chief, he will blame the settlers for the attacks and retaliate. If that happens, I fear the worst for both the tribe and the settlers," said Grandmother Willow.

"Then we should investigate this further. We'll find out whomever or whatever is responsible for the Heartless and Nobodies being here and put a stop to them," said Sora.

Grandmother Willow chuckled and said, "I have no doubt about that. And fortunately for you, I know someone who might be able to help: Pocahontas."

"Park-ya-karkus?" asked Donald. "No, I believe she said Pocahontas, Donald," said Goofy.

"Pocahontas is the daughter of the chief. She is one of the most spirited and kind people I know. She often comes to me for guidance and I find her to be a little more open minded than the rest of the tribe so I am sure she will help you on your investigation. Knowing her, she's probably trying to solve the mystery herself at this moment. But she doesn't know the enemies as well as you do," said Grandmother Willow.

"Can you tell us where we can find her? Hopefully, not at the village where you just told us to stay away from," said Mickey.

In response, a gentle gust of wind passed through the glade. It carried several leaves and petals as it blew past the party.

"Follow the wind. Its spirit will guide you to Pocahontas. Tell her I was the one who sent you to her and I'm sure she will trust you," said the tree.

"We'll do that. Let's hope the wind doesn't take us through bad territory," said Sora as he and the rest of the party began to march in the direction that the wind was blowing.

Before she completely left the glade, Kairi turned back and called, "Thank you so much, Grandmother Willow. We won't let you down and we'll see you later hopefully after we find Pocahontas."

"I wish you all well and I have great faith that you will succeed. Stay together and be careful. The Heartless and the Nobodies may not be the only danger you face in this world," said Grandmother Willow as her face faded away into the tree.

Walking in the direction of the wind, the party set out on their mission. If Grandmother Willow was correct, they would find a new friend and ally in Pocahontas at the end of their journey.


	26. Ch 25: The Captain and the Governor

**Chapter 25: The Captain and the Governor**

A little while later, the party continued to trek through the woods as they followed the direction of the wind. So far, they had not encountered anything dangerous be it treacherous terrain, wild animals or any dark forces.

As they walked, Riku noticed something about some of their companions. Donald and Goofy looked a little nervous as they walked cautiously with their weapons out. Pluto also looked agitated as he glanced around for any sign of trouble.

"What's with you guys?" asked Riku. "You heard what Grandmother Willow said. We may be able to handle the Heartless and Nobodies. But if the Powhatan tribe sees us, they may attack us and we may not be able to fight them," said Goofy.

"Goofy's got a point. I mean, I've hunted Indians in Neverland with Peter and the Lost Boys. But it was always just a game to them. If we got caught, the Indians turned us loose. If we caught them, we'd turn them loose. But if the Powhatan don't take kindly to strangers in their land, they may very well shoot at us first," said Tinker Bell.

All of a sudden, loud noises rang out through the forest. "Speaking of shooting, that sounded like gunfire!" exclaimed Mickey.

"Sounds like there's trouble. And where there's trouble, there's usually darkness. We'd better see what it is," said Sora as he ran in the direction of the gunshots.

"But Sora, what about finding Pocahontas like Grandmother Willow asked us to?" asked Kairi. "Yeah, Sora. We really should stay focused on our current mission," said Goofy.

"The wind hasn't changed direction. I bet we can pick up where we left off once we investigate. Now come on! There may be people in trouble," said Sora as he ran off.

Everyone stood still for a while before running after Sora. "He just can't resist helping people he doesn't know, can he?" asked Donald. "Yeah. But that's one of his best qualities," said Kairi.

A short run later, everyone gathered at the edge of a large clearing. They stayed within the woods as they observed what was going on.

` They had apparently arrived at the camp of the settlers that Grandmother Willow had told them about. Like she said, there were many fallen trees and holes in the ground. There were also several tents set up as well as a wooden fort currently in the early stages of building. But currently, the settlers were not in the process of building their settlement.

They were in the middle of a battle. Heartless and Nobodies poured out of the forest toward the camp. The settlers attempted to stop them with their guns and cannons. Some even engaged the enemy directly with swords. But as much as they fought, the enemies continued to attack.

"Looks like they could use a little hand down there," said Goofy. "Really? What was your first clue?" asked Donald.

"This looks bad. Mundane weapons may finish off a Heartless or Nobody eventually. But not as fast as a Keyblade or magic," said Mickey.

"Then we'd better get down there and add some to the fray. Let's go!" yelled Riku. The party began to advance out of the wood and onto the field of battle.

Down in the battleground, a pair of men had ducked behind a pile of logs to get their bearings. One was a blond man dressed in blue and was wearing a helmet and an armor over his torso. The other had red hair and was wearing a brownish-green shirt and pants along with a beret-like hat on his head.

"What are we going to do, John? Those creatures aren't relenting. We'll run out of ammunition if we can't turn this battle around," said the red haired man.

"I know it looks bleak, Thomas. But we didn't sail halfway around the world just to be run off by these monsters. I'm going to engage them directly. You spread the word that we're going to have to fight them hand to hand to save ammunition," said John.

John rose up to view the battle. He was about to charge into the battle when his eyes met with the sight of Sora and his friends arriving and engaging the enemies.

"Hold your fire! There are civilians on the field! Hey you kids! Get out of there! It's dangerous?" he said questioningly as he saw what happened next.

To his surprise, he watched as the young Keybearers and their friends began to fight the Heartless and the Nobodies. Even more surprising was the fact that they appeared to be winning.

Among the various Heartless species were the common Shadows as well as members of the odd family of spellcasting Heartless with color and music names. There were Red Nocturnes, Blue Rhapsodies and Yellow Operas. There were also Spear Hawks in the air.

In addition, there were two new species of Heartless on the field. One looked like floating black torsos covered in tribal war paint. They wore headbands with single feathers and were carrying bows which they used to fire arrows. They were known as Bowmen.

The others looked like living wooden totem poles. They had humanoid torsos but from the waist down, they had full-bodied wolves. On top of their heads were screeching eagles. They threw tomahawks that returned to them like boomerangs. They were called Totem Raiders.

As for the Nobody species, there were Dusks as well as more Snipers. They had also been joined by the hulking Berserker Nobodies who bared large claymores as weapons.

One by one, the settlers stopped their fighting to watch the spectacle unfold. They were shocked to watch such odd beings appear to save them. They were more shocked to see that three of them were teenage children.

They watched as Sora sliced through a Totem Raider and Kairi deflected arrows from the Bowmen. They gaped as Mickey leapt into the air and took out several of the aerial Heartless as Riku snatched one of the Berserkers' claymores and used it against the others. They marveled as Donald fired Thunder spells and incinerated several Shadows and Dusks and Goofy threw his shield into the air to cut down several of magic Heartless.

The battle continued and if the Heartless and Nobodies had the power of Darkness Evolution, they either never got a chance to use it or never came to mind. Soon, several of the more powerful enemies were vanquished and like before, the weaker ones began to retreat.

As his friends and fellow Keybearers' cheered their victory, Sora's eyes caught a glimpse of something running alongside the Heartless and Nobodies. It appeared to be a dark skinned man dressed in clothing made from animal skins. It looked just like the native people he had seen before in his schoolbooks.

'Was that a member of the Powhatan tribe? Could he be behind this attack?' thought Sora. His thoughts were interrupted as the sounds of cheering came from behind them.

The party turned around and saw the settlers approaching them. They all had looks of admirations and gratitude for the help they had received.

"You know, I always loved this part of the job. It's really nice to be appreciated," said Donald. "Well, don't let it go to your head, Donald. We do this because it's right and not for the accolades," said Mickey.

Out of the crowd of settlers, John and Thomas stepped out. They both eyed the party with admiration.

"That was amazing! Thank you so much for the help!" exclaimed Thomas. "I've got to admit: you kids did a pretty nice job out there. But who are you?" asked John.

"Oh, I'm Sora and these are my friends Kairi, Riku, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Jiminy and Tinker Bell," said Sora indicating each of his friends who waved in response.

"Pleasure to meet all of you. I'm Captain John Smith and this is Thomas. It's a good thing you showed up when you did. You handled yourselves very well out there," said John.

"No problem. We've been fighting those things for awhile so we pretty much can take care of any problems they may cause," said Kairi.

"Then perhaps you would care to share a few details on them, young lady," said a voice from behind John and Thomas. John and Thomas turned around and Sora and his friends gazed past them toward the source.

Cutting through the group of settlers was a tall and imposing man dressed in a maroon suit and hat. He had black hair with two bowed strands at the sides of his head, a moustache and a tiny snip of a beard on his chin. As he approached Sora and the others, he wore a look of haughtiness.

Tucked under his arm was a gray furred pug dog wearing a ruffled collar. Like its owner, its face gave a look of self-proclaimed superiority.

Once he reached Sora's party, he looked down on them and said, "I understand it was you motley crew of individuals who drove off those monsters. I suppose we owe you our thanks."

Sora and his friends were unsure what to make of the man whose words gave the impression that he wasn't too impressed with their deeds. Still, to be polite, Goofy said, "You're very welcome, sir"

"I am Governor Ratcliffe, the leader of this expedition and overseer of this new settlement. And this little pet of mine is Percy," said Ratcliffe.

Pluto gazed up at Percy and gave a bark of greeting. Percy just looked away. Pluto frowned at the insulting gesture.

"Since you claim to have fought those things before, would you care to enlighten us on what exactly they are?" asked Ratcliffe.

"Well sir, they're known as Heartless and Nobodies. The Heartless are the ones that have various amounts of darkness in their color and have glowing yellow eyes. The white bodied creatures are the Nobodies. They cause trouble wherever they go. More often than not, they are at the command of somebody or something evil," explained Mickey.

"So is that how they function? Well, it's perfectly clear where those things came from. The savages have resorted to using dark magic to send these creatures to attack us. But this is our land now and they will not deprive us of what we came here for," said Ratcliffe. The settlers cheered in response.

"Savages? Are you talking about the Powhatan tribe?" asked Kairi. Ratcliffe eyed Kairi suspiciously after her remark.

"Regardless of what they call themselves, we were expecting trouble from them. But I never imagined what lengths they would go to drive us off. Smith!" yelled Ratcliffe. John stepped forward as Ratcliffe and said, "Yes sir?"

"I want you to scout the forest and try to find any clues to the location of their so-called civilization. If you run into any trouble, you know what to do," said Ratcliffe.

"You can count on me. As much trouble as the natives may give us, that's nothing compared to the trouble I'll give them," said John.

"See that you do. That's why I brought you on this expedition. But then again, you weren't exactly doing your job when those Heartless attacked. Perhaps you require the assistance of more experienced fighters," said Ratcliffe turning toward the Keybearers and their friends.

"Us, sir?" asked Donald. "Yes. You have said that you've had experience fighting these things and since you clearly got here before us, you must know the land. Since Captain Smith apparently can't handle these creatures, he will require your aid. Would you do it?" asked Ratcliffe.

"Well, we should discuss it first," said Mickey. "If you must. But do come to an agreement soon," said Ratcliffe.

The group then gathered into a huddle. They had to discuss whether or not to follow through with the governor's request. "So guys, what should we do?" asked Sora.

"Well, it's pretty clear that Captain Smith may need our help. If the Heartless or Nobodies attack while he's all alone, he may not be able to win," said Riku.

"But guys, we still need to do what Grandmother Willow wanted us to do and find Pocahontas. Besides, there's something about the governor that I don't like. He seems a little too quick to blame the Powhatan tribe for the attack," said Kairi.

"I'm not too sure he's completely wrong, Kairi. Before the Heartless and the Nobodies left, I saw someone that looked like he belonged to the natives. This mysterious man may be the one commanding the dark forces in this world," said Sora.

"Have you come to a decision? We don't have all day so kindly make one," said Ratcliffe.

"He's certainly not very patient," said Goofy. "Your majesty, what do you think we should do?" asked Donald.

Mickey thought for a second and said, "I think we should accompany Captain Smith for now. Riku's right. He may need our help if he runs into trouble. Plus, the wind is still blowing. Maybe we can lead him in the direction we need to take to find Pocahontas."

The huddle broke and Sora said, "We're with you, Captain Smith." "Excellent. It'll be a pleasure to work with you. And please just call me John," said John.

"Follow us. We were exploring the forest it earlier so we can show you the easiest way to go," said Sora as he and his friends took off in the direction of the wind. John was about to follow them when he was held back by Ratcliffe.

"Keep an eye on them, Smith. There's something suspicious about them," he whispered to John.

"But sir, if it weren't for them, those monsters would have certainly overwhelmed us. You can't possibly think they might be our enemies," said John.

"I find it to be a little too convenient that they showed up and they managed to defeat those monsters when our men couldn't. For all we know, they may very well be in league with the savages and stepped in the battle to gain our trust. The girl did mention the name of the tribe. Take no chances," said the governor.

"I will sir. But I think you're being a little paranoid," said John as he walked after the party toward the forest.

Ratcliffe then turned to Thomas and the rest of the settlers and said, "All right everyone, its time to get back to work. Builders, resume work on the fort. The rest of you, keep digging. There's gold in this land somewhere and we will not stop digging until we find it!"

The settlers immediately went back to their jobs they had been doing before the battle had started. But there was an air of unease around the camp. The settlers were now dreading the possibility of attack from the so-called savages and their dark allies the Heartless and the Nobodies. That is, if the governor's claim had any ring of truth.

_Author's Note: Sorry if the battle wasn't too detailed in this chapter. But it really wasn't the true focus of the chapter. But stay tuned. A mini-boss style battle is coming up!_


	27. Ch 26: Residents of the Forest

**Chapter 26: Residents of the Forest**

Much later, the party accompanied by John was trekking through a heavily wooded area of the Powhatan Nation. They were all on their guard for they knew that their enemies could be hiding around any tree be they Heartless, Nobodies or even Powhatans. But so far, nothing had shown up.

"Looks like those creatures might be laying low seeing as you did such a good job chasing them off," said John. "Don't underestimate them, John. We've fought them many times before. But nowadays, they seem to be getting stronger and smarter," said Sora.

"I've seen many new lands in my career as a captain. But never have I encountered creatures like the Heartless and the Nobodies? What are they exactly?" asked John.

"Well, to put it simply John, when a being loses their heart to the powers of darkness, it separates from the body and turns into a shadowy creature called a Heartless. And when that happens to a person with a really strong heart, good or evil, the leftover body and soul take a life of their own and a Nobody is created," said Mickey.

"When you think about it, their names are sorta wrong. I mean, the Heartless are hearts and the Nobodies are bodies," said Goofy. "That may be true. But we have more important things than thinking up new names for them," said Riku.

"Anyway John, they are both dangerous in many ways. Mostly because they often are used by people with dark intentions who want to rule the universe," said Kairi.

"Interesting. But I'm really not too worried about them now that we have all of you on our side. You handled them very well. I'm more concerned with the natives," said John.

This was a subject Sora and the others really weren't looking forward to discussing. They weren't sure if they should tell John what Grandmother Willow had told them: that the people of the Powhatan tribe were victims of the Heartless and Nobodies as well. But after hearing what Sora had seen at the battle at the settlement, they didn't know what to believe.

"John, you don't really think that the natives are evil?" asked Sora. "Yeah, you don't really know them," said Donald.

"Well, evil wouldn't be the word I would use. I would say that they just don't know any better. But we have plans for this land that once we put into effect, I'm sure they will thank us," said John.

"What kind of plans exactly, John?" asked Jiminy. "We're going to build what we have back in London here. And once they see the conveniences of civilized living, they'll stop acting in such a savage manner," said John.

The party could not believe what they were hearing. They had thought John was a better person than Ratcliffe. But though he wasn't as overzealous as the governor, he clearly had the same prejudicial attitudes toward natives.

They were about to continue their discussion when all of a sudden, they heard a rustling sound. They all turned in the direction and saw a nearby bush quiver. Clearly, there was something in it.

The party drew their weapons while John unsheathed his gun. "Be careful, everyone. Let's not make our move until we know for sure what it is," said John.

They all waited while keeping an eye on the bush. Any moment know, they expected, a Heartless or Nobody or even something else might jump out and attack.

Finally, something did and it turned out to be something that caused them to lower their weapons.

Crawling out of the bush was a raccoon. It was sniffing the air as it approached the party.

"Well that's a strange looking fellow. Come here boy," said John. The raccoon walked over to John and immediately began to sniff his satchel.

John chuckled and said, "Guess there's no fooling your nose, little guy. Here you go."

With that John dug into the satchel and took out a hardtack biscuit. He handed it to the raccoon that gleefully gobbled it up. John then offered another while the others watched.

"And you guys thought we were going to be attacked," said Donald smugly. "Ooh! Big scary raccoon come to get us! We'd better fight for our lives," laughed Riku.

While everyone else laughed, Mickey was watching the raccoon with a look of concern. "Ya know, fellas, there's something odd about that raccoon," said Mickey. "What do you mean your majesty?" asked Goofy.

"Well, just look at how he's acting around John. Normally, wild animals like raccoons don't take too well to humans. Yet he's not the least bit scared or aggressive," said Mickey.

"You've got a point, Mickey. You think maybe it could be a pet of someone?" asked Sora.

The raccoon then turned its attention to the bush he had crawled out of and waved his paw. "Got a friend back there?" asked John as he approached the bush.

But just as John got close to the bush, a green blur suddenly shot out of it and began to fly around the captain. John flailed wildly trying to avoid it. As he struggled, more biscuits fell out of his satchel and the raccoon began to gather them up.

"Hang on, John. We'll get it!" exclaimed Donald as he pointed his staff toward the blur.

But before he could cast one spell, the blur turned its attention and began to attack the rest of the party. It moved so fast that no one could land a blow on it.

"What is this thing? Some kind of new Heartless?" asked Sora as he swung his Keyblade fruitlessly at it. "I can't tell! It's moving too fast!" yelled Kairi as the blur flew past and nearly missed her cheek.

"I'll take care of this!" exclaimed Tinker Bell as she rubbed her hands together. She then released a cloud of pixie dust right in the blur's path. It slowed down and everyone finally got a good look at it.

It was a green hummingbird with a red spot on its throat. The pixie dust had apparently irritated its sinuses because it looked ready to sneeze. It soon did just that and propelled itself backwards. It hit a tree near where the raccoon who, in spite of all the action, was feasting on the biscuits.

"Did we seriously just get attacked by a hummingbird?" asked Riku. "I wouldn't have believed it myself if it didn't just happen," said Sora.

Tinker Bell landed on the ground near the hummingbird just as Jiminy hopped up next to her. After shaking off his daze, the hummingbird angrily chirped. Clearly, it was ready to continue its attack.

"Now you stop that right now!" yelled Tinker Bell. "Yes, we didn't do anything to you so you had no right to attack us unprovoked," added in Jiminy waving his umbrella in a scolding motion to the hummingbird.

The hummingbird gave a look of defiance and immediately took off into the air. But before it could begin attacking, the raccoon grabbed it and held on tightly. The raccoon gave a look of apology toward Tinker Bell and Jiminy as the hummingbird struggled to get free.

"Do you know this bird?" asked Jiminy. The raccoon nodded in response. "Well, you should teach it some manners about picking fights with strangers," said Tinker Bell.

"Well, that certainly was interesting. First time a bird ever got the best of me," said John as he began to gather up the things spilled from his satchel.

Kairi gazed toward the bush and said, "It clearly didn't want us to look in that bush. But why?"

Before they could ponder it further, a loud female scream rang through the forest. Almost immediately, the raccoon and the hummingbird looked in the direction it came from. Worried looks appeared on their faces as they ran and flew off in the same direction.

"Sounds like there's trouble. Let's go everyone!" commanded John as he ran after the pair of animals with Sora and the gang following him.


	28. Ch 27: The Woods Possessed

**Chapter 27: The Woods Possessed**

It wasn't too long the group came to what appeared to be the edge of the forest with a large rocky hill before them. There was indeed trouble going on and someone was in it.

Trapped on a ledge on the hill was a beautiful native woman. She had long black hair and was wearing a yellow native dress as well as a blue necklace around her neck. Though there was a path leading up to the ledge, she was unable to leave due to what had currently cornered her from below.

Below the ledge was a quartet of Heartless that resembled trees. They had gnarled faces with jagged teeth made of bark and glowing yellow eyes in large wide holes. Their branches had taken the form of large clawed hands. However, their roots remained planted in the ground. They were known as the Wicked Woods.

"I never realized that the Heartless could get that large," said John. "They tend to come in many shapes and sizes," said Goofy.

"Hey, you two! Don't go out there!" called Jiminy to the raccoon and the hummingbird. But the animals didn't heed the cricket's warning. They ran toward a path on the hill that led up to the ledge where the woman was.

"I'll go and help the woman. You take care of those Heartless trees," said Kairi as she followed after the animal duo. Pluto ran after her.

"Wait, Kairi! Let me go with you," said John as he ran after the girl Keybearer and the dog.

The rest of the gang ran toward the Wicked Woods. "Attack them from behind where they can't see us!" commanded Mickey.

Everyone did just that and began to attack the Wicked Woods in the back. The tree Heartless immediately ceased their focus on the woman. However, since they couldn't turn around to see their attackers, all they could do was claw around with their rear branches which the group evaded easily.

"This is quite possibly the easiest battle we've ever fought," said Donald. "Yeah. Since they can't turn around, they can't hit what they can't see," said Tinker Bell.

After a series of beating on the Heartless' bodies, Sora realized something. Though the Wicked Woods had yet to land a single blow on him, he noticed that they hadn't even attempted to try with their rear branches. The young man looked up and gasped. "Everybody stop and look!" he shouted.

His friends stopped fighting and gazed at Sora in confusion. But then they soon realized what was going on: the Wicked Woods had suddenly changed into ordinary trees.

"I don't understand it. They were Heartless just a minute ago, weren't they?" asked Goofy. "Something doesn't feel right. Everyone keep their eyes open," said Riku.

But before anyone could react, branch hands swiped at them from behind. They all jumped away and gazed in the direction it had come from. Standing before them was none other than the four Wicked Woods.

"How did they get behind us?" asked Donald. "I don't know. But now they've got us on the defensive," said Sora as he and his friends began to evade the attacks which were now more targeted now that the Wicked Woods could see them.

Up on the ledge, the native woman watched the battle unfold. She wasn't sure about the strangers who were currently fending off the monsters that had cornered her. Though they appeared to be helping her, she was wondering if they would turn on her once they were finished.

Suddenly, she heard the sounds of animals behind her. She turned around and saw the raccoon and the hummingbird coming up the path to the ledge. They immediately ran into her arms and she embraced them with a look of relief on her face.

"Meeko! Flit! Thank the spirits you are all right. I'm sorry for running off like that. But those creatures came out of nowhere and pursued me here," said the woman.

"So they belong to you. We were wondering why they were so accustomed to human company," said a male voice.

The woman faced the path and saw John, Kairi and Pluto coming up. She gave a look of wanting to flee despite the fact that there was no place to run to. Kairi noticed.

"Don't worry. I know we may look like we belong with the settlers. Well, he does. But we're not your enemies," said Kairi.

John approached the woman and said, "Don't be afraid. Let us help you. My name is John Smith. This girl is Kairi and the dog's name is Pluto."

The woman still looked unsure of whether to trust the strangers especially since they appeared to be part of the pale strangers that had caused destruction to her people's land. But she mustered up her courage and said, "My name is Pocahontas."

Kairi's eyes opened wide in surprise. She immediately stepped forward past John and said, "Pocahontas? We've been searching for you. Grandmother Willow said you could help us."

"You know Grandmother Willow? You've spoken to her?" asked Pocahontas in a confused tone.

"Wait a minute. What are you all talking about? Kairi, you were supposed to find this woman?" asked John who was completely in the dark.

It was then that Kairi realized there was so much that they hadn't told John. But then again, how could they tell him that they had been assigned the task of finding Pocahontas by a talking tree? He would have thought they were crazy.

"Look, we're going to have to talk about this later. I think we have more pressing matters to attend to," said John pointing to the battle that was unfolding below them.

"He's right. We'll have to deal with those Heartless first before we do anything else," said Kairi.

"Heartless? Are those the name of those things that are controlling the trees? Can you set them free? The trees are suffering because of them," said Pocahontas. Kairi,

Pluto and John looked confused at Pocahontas' statement. "Controlling the trees? What on earth are you talking about?" asked John.

"I was in the forest watching all of you and just before Meeko gave away my location, I ran while Flit distracted you. Soon after, strange creatures made of dark mist entered the trees and they suddenly changed into those creatures. I ran from them but they pursued me and I eventually ended up here," said Pocahontas.

"Wait a minute. You said that those Heartless chased you but from what we saw, it looked like they were rooted in the ground," said Kairi.

"I told you. The trees aren't the monsters. The monsters are the things that are inside them. They left the first group of trees and went into others as they pursued me," said Pocahontas.

"I don't understand what she's talking about," said John. "Neither do I. But maybe Sora does. He's fought the Heartless longer than I have. I'd better tell him," said Kairi.

Kairi went to the edge of the ledge and shouted downward, "Sora! We found Pocahontas and she says that the trees aren't Heartless themselves. There's something inside them!"

Sora heard the voice of his friend and suddenly, memories flooded back to him of a similar situation involving a door that looked like a Heartless but was actually being possessed by one. There was only one way to find out.

Dodging many of the Wicked Woods' attacks, Sora ran to one of them and pressed the tip of his Keyblade to its trunk. The tree began to fill with light and began to flail wildly. All of a sudden, something burst out from the tree which then returned to normal.

It was a Heartless that resembled a small ball of misty darkness. It had glowing yellow eyes and a small crooked mouth.

"Now it all makes sense: these trees are being controlled by Possessors," said Sora recognizing the Heartless immediately. A plan began to form in Sora's mind.

"Goofy! Tinker Bell! Keep them distracted while Mickey and I force the Possessors out of the trees. Riku, go into Wisdom Form with Donald and take them out," shouted Sora.

"You got it, Sora! Ready, Donald?" asked Riku as he ran to the duck's side. "When you are," said Donald. Riku nodded and shouted, "Give me strength!"

Riku's clothes burst into light as Donald vanished. When it died down, Riku's clothes had become blue and was hovering above the ground. His blindfold had drifted over his eyes. It appeared that it would with every Drive Form.

Sora's plan immediately went into effect. While Goofy and Tinker Bell kept the Wicked Woods distracted, he and Mickey would sneak in and press their Keyblades to their trunks. Using their powers, they forced the Possessors to leave the trees.

Exposed, the Possessors were subjected to magical blasts from Riku. The blindfold once again did not hinder him in the slightest as he made direct hits on all of them.

Though the Possessors leapt back into trees for protection, the heroic team repeated Sora's attack plan. One by one, the Possessors dissipated into darkness. The battle continued until Riku's Wisdom Form ceased and Donald reappeared.

Everyone glanced around for any sign of the Possessors or the Wicked Woods. There was no sign of anything.

"Did we get them all? All four?" asked Goofy. "As far as I can figure, I destroyed three. That means there's one left," said Riku.

All of them looked around for the lone Heartless. Suddenly, Mickey yelled, "There is it!"

Everyone gazed where Mickey was pointing and saw a Possessor flying toward the ledge on the hill. "Kairi! John! Look out!" yelled Riku.

Up on the ledge, Kairi had seen the Possessor coming and readied her Keyblade. She was ready to attack it the moment she saw the yellow gleam of its eyes in front of her.

Suddenly, the Possessor sprang up in front of them. Pocahontas and her animals backed away as Kairi prepared to attack.

But before she could move, a loud bang emitted behind her and the Heartless dissipated. Kairi turned around and she saw John holding his gun which was now smoking out of the barrel. With the demise of the last Possessor, the battle was now finished.

"Nice shot, John," complimented Kairi. "Well, I'm just glad I was finally able to destroy one of those things," said John.

"In all fairness, Captain Smith, I think Riku's attacks weakened it," said Kairi. "It's been a pretty unusual day so I'll take what I can get," said John.

John then turned to Pocahontas and her animals and said, "We can go down now. The danger has passed." He held out his hand for her to take.

Pocahontas gave John a look of hesitation. Her eyes kept close watch on the gun. Clearly, witnessing the power of the strange weapon had shaken her somewhat. Meeko and Flit looked scared as well.

"Don't worry, Pocahontas. I told you before. We're here to help you. Now come on and meet the rest of our group," said Kairi

Pocahontas cautiously approached John and made a gesture to take his offered hand. Flit immediately took off in what appeared to be an attempt to stop her. But Meeko grabbed onto his tail.

As Pocahontas took his hand, John began the walk down the hill's path. Kairi, Pluto, Flit and Meeko followed close behind. As they journeyed downward, Kairi's mind was deep in thought.

'I can understand Pocahontas' reluctance. After all her people have gone through with the settlers and the darkness, I can't blame her for being wary. But I hope we can all get along so we can find a solution,' she thought as they all made their way to where Sora and others were waiting for them.

_Author's note: I hope you liked this battle. Also, I hope you don't think Pocahontas has been reduced to a damsel-in-distress. She's a strong woman but even she can't stand up to the Heartless on her own. Anyway, keep reading and reviewing._


	29. Ch 28: A Lesson in Tolerance

**Chapter 28: A Lesson in Tolerance**

It wasn't too long until the small group that had been up on the ledge finally made it down to the ground. Immediately, they were surrounded by the rest of the group.

"Pocahontas, I'd like you to meet the rest of our group of adventurers. That's Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Tinker Bell and Jiminy," said Kairi indicating each of her friends who waved in response.

"It's very nice to meet all of you. I thank you greatly for fighting off those monsters and freeing the trees," said Pocahontas.

"It weren't nothin', Pocahontas. Fightin' Heartless is what we do whenever they cause trouble," said Goofy. "Though we are sorry we had to rough up the trees to defeat them," said Riku.

Pocahontas walked over to one of the trees that had been one of the Wicked Woods. She inspected the trunk which showed traces of damage from the battle. She gave a look of sadness.

"It is unfortunate that they had to suffer like this. But they will heal over time and I'm sure they are grateful for your aid in setting it free," said Pocahontas.

At that point, John cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Well, now that we've all been introduced, I think we should get down to business. We'd like to ask you some questions, Pocahontas," said John.

"As do I. Where do you come from and why are you destroying our land?" asked Pocahontas.

"Well, I came from England. It's a country far across the ocean. Sora and the others haven't exactly told me where they came from among other things," said John with a hint of disapproval in his voice. Sora and the others winced.

"And we're not destroying the land. We're making it more livable for the people who are coming here in the future," said John. "You mean there are more of you coming here?" asked Pocahontas.

"Yes. We're going to build a real civilization here. We'll build cobblestone streets and buildings like we have back in England. And it's not just for us. It'll be for all of your people as well, Pocahontas. We'll teach you so much like how to use the land properly and how to build decent houses," said John.

'Oh boy. This is not going to go well,' thought Sora. The others of his group would have agreed as they saw that Pocahontas was nearly on the verge of anger.

"Our houses are fine!" the native woman snapped at John. "Well, that's what you think now. But we have so much to teach you. We've improved the lives of savages everywhere we've been," said John. 'Here comes the hurricane,' thought Riku.

"Savages?" asked Pocahontas angrily. "Well, not that you're a savage. I mean…" said John stumbling to find the right words to rectify the situation.

"Just my people," said Pocahontas finishing for him. "No! Yes! I mean that's not what I mean at all," said John.

"I think it's perfectly clear what you mean, John Smith. And if that's how you see my people then we have no further business with each other," said Pocahontas as she turned from the group and walked away. Meeko and Flit gave dirty looks toward John and followed her.

Pocahontas went over to a nearby tree and began to climb up it. John went over to the trunk and called up, "Look, you don't understand. Savage is just a word that means uncivilized and…"

"What you mean is not like you," said Pocahontas downward as she sat down on a limb of the tree. She did not move an inch or look down.

John was completely dumbfounded. It seemed no matter what he said to Pocahontas, she was going to be offended.

"You know, John, we watched that whole conversation from start to finish and we all can agree on what exactly went wrong," said Kairi. "And what would that be?" asked John.

"Everything you said!" everyone shouted at the same time. John was startled at the sudden outburst.

"It's all well and good that you want to share your culture and knowledge with the Powhatans," said Goofy. "Yeah. But you shouldn't make it sound like yours is better than theirs," said Sora.

"The Powhatans have lived here for generations and they've done pretty well. And as for that savage remark, I don't what kind of native peoples you have encountered in the past. But it's not right to call all natives savages especially since when you don't know anything about them," said Riku.

John began to think about what he had just been told. But he did not look fully convinced.

"The Powhatans may be different from your people, John. But everyone all over the world are different and that makes it better. I mean look at us. We're a real mixed-up bunch of all shapes and sizes. But that hasn't stopped us from being good friends," said Kairi.

John then gave a smile to his friends. "You know, for such young ones, you are pretty wise beyond your years," he said.

"Well, we've been around and seen a lot of things. And we're sorry we haven't told you everything about why we're here. But we haven't lied to you about anything," said Sora.

"I understand. I'm sure you have your reasons for not telling me everything. But let me tell you that though we've only known each other for a short time, I would trust you with my life," said the captain.

"That's very good to know, John. And I hope you trust us when we say we will all have to work together, Pocahontas included, if we hope to stop the evil forces threatening this world," said Mickey.

"Look at it this way, John. You say you have a lot to offer the natives. But have you ever wondered what they might have to offer you if you got to know them?" asked Sora.

John nodded. He fully understood what Sora and the others had told him. He turned and approached the tree.

"Pocahontas? I am sorry that I offended you and your people by calling you savages. It was very wrong of me to say that. But I would to like to learn more about how you and your people see the world. That is, if you'll show me," he said.

Up in the tree, Pocahontas had listened to everything that had been said down on the ground. She considered what she should do. She looked at Meeko and Flit for their opinions.

Flit shook his head. He did not trust the strangers one bit. Meeko, however, looked very willing to make friends with them. Likely, the promise of more biscuits was driving his choice.

"I know Father told everyone to stay away from the strangers. But they can't be all bad. They saved me from those Heartless monsters and they may be the only ones who can stop them," said Pocahontas.

Her mind made up, Pocahontas began to climb down the tree. Meeko and Flit followed her and soon, they were on the ground right in front of John.

Extending her hand to John, she said, "If you wish to learn more about my people, I will show you. Follow me." John nodded and took her hand.

"Hey! Don't forget us!" called Donald. "Yeah! You might need us if the Heartless and Nobodies attack again," said Tinker Bell. "Not that we don't want to see things from a Powhatan perspective ourselves," said Jiminy.

Pocahontas chuckled and said, "You are all welcome to come along. If we're going to be friends, I'd like to know a little more about all of you as well."

Sora and the others began to follow as Pocahontas led John. Hopefully, after John had learnt more about the culture of the natives, they could all work better together. They would have to if the world was to stand a chance against the darkness that threatened it.

_Author's note: This chapter was really hard to write on account that I struggled with how to reveal John Smith's prejudice toward the natives since he and Pocahontas met under different circumstances in the movie. I hope I did well. And for all intents and purposes, imagine the Colors of the Wind sequence happening between this chapter and the next._


	30. Ch 29: A Sudden Realization

_Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. With the holidays and all the hustle and bustle, you know how it is._

**Chapter 29: A Sudden Realization**

For the next few hours, Pocahontas guided her new friends all around what she believed to be the most important places of the Powhatan Nation. Throughout her tour, she taught them many of the ways of the people such as how they believed everything was connected in an everlasting circle as well as several special gestures for saying hello and goodbye. Fortunately, there had been no problems from the darkness for the duration.

While the tour proved to be amazing to Sora and his friends, it was more eye-opening for Captain John Smith. As the tour went on, he was a changed man much to the satisfaction of his friends

Eventually, their travels led them back to Grandmother Willow's glade. Although Pocahontas showed John many things about the land, she had yet to tell him of her.

"So tell me, John Smith, what do you think now that you have seen how my people see the world?" asked Pocahontas. "I've got to admit, Pocahontas. This land is far more amazing and beautiful than I ever imagined. Your people have a very special way of looking at the land," said John.

"Glad you see it that way, John. Now maybe you'll think a little more before you just dig it up," said Goofy.

"That reminds me, John. I've been meaning to ask you why you and your people are digging up the earth. It just doesn't make any sense to me," said Pocahontas.

"Well you see, Pocahontas, we're digging up the earth because we're looking for gold," said John. Pocahontas looked confused. "What is gold?" she asked.

"It's this yellow substance that is found in the ground. It's very valuable back in England. All over the world, in fact," said John.

"Oh! Well, we have plenty of that. My people grow it all the time for food. We can show you how to grow it if it's that valuable. We have plenty to spare," said Pocahontas.

Immediately, smiles formed on Sora and his friends' faces. Their smiles eventually gave way to bursts of outrageous laughter.

"What's so funny?" asked Pocahontas. Between laughs, Riku said, "Sorry, Pocahontas. But I think John means something completely different from what you just said."

"Riku's right. Gold isn't a plant. Neither is it something you can eat. It's a mineral or rock to put it simply. Like this," said John digging out a coin out of his satchel and handing it to Pocahontas.

Pocahontas examined the coin closely and then said, "There's nothing like this around here."

"Are you sure?" asked John. Pocahontas nodded in response. "Hm. All the way here for nothing," said John though he had an amused smile on his face.

"The governor's really not going to like that. He's going to be pretty mad when he learns that there's no gold in this land," said Mickey. "Well, there's other riches in this land that I've seen. But I doubt he'll see it that way," said John.

"Who is this governor?" asked Pocahontas. "He's sort of like our chief like your father. But he's not the most patient man to work for and the Heartless and Nobody problem is really not helping his mood," said John.

"Pocahontas, John, now that we've all found some common ground, I think maybe its time we discussed the problem facing your world," said Jiminy. Pocahontas and John nodded in agreement.

"Wait! Shouldn't we introduce John to someone before we start this discussion?" asked Kairi who gave a knowing gaze toward the tree in the middle of the glade.

"What are you all talking about?" asked John. Pocahontas turned the captain toward the tree and said, "Just watch and see."

John kept his eyes on the tree and to his surprise; the face of Grandmother Willow appeared in it. "Hello John Smith," she said with a chuckle.

"Pocahontas, Sora, that tree is talking to me," said John who appeared to be unnerved. "We know. We've met," said Sora whose face was all amusement at John's reaction.

"You really should talk back to be polite," said Pocahontas. "What do you say to a tree?" asked John. "Anything you want," said Kairi.

John approached Grandmother Willow. "Uh hi," he began to say when Grandmother Willow pushed him closer to her face. "Come closer so I can see you better," said the old tree.

After a few moments of examining the young captain, Grandmother Willow said, "He has a good heart. And he's handsome too." "Ooh, I like her," said John. Everyone chuckled.

"Now that we all know each other, it's that we got down to business. Pocahontas, can you tell us exactly what's been happening in the world recently?" asked Mickey.

"Well, if Grandmother Willow really has told you everything, my tribe has come under attack by the Heartless and the Nobodies though I did not know that's what they were called until I met all of you. And it all started shortly after John's people came to our shores," said Pocahontas.

"Pocahontas, I assure you that none of my men are using those things to attack your people. We have been attacked as well," said John.

"I'd like to believe you, John. But there is something else that causes me to doubt your word. During one of the attacks, I saw someone who looked like a member of your people and he appeared to be leading them," said Pocahontas.

"You did? What did he look like? Did he have any distinctive characteristics?" asked John.

Pocahontas shook her head and said, "I was not close enough to him to see anything. But he did look like he belonged to your people."

"There's something else you should know, Pocahontas. Sora saw someone who looked like he belonged to your tribe during one of the attacks on the settlers," said Goofy.

"What? But that's impossible. My people may defend their territory. But none of them would associate themselves with those wicked creatures," said Pocahontas. Meeko and Flit sounded their support.

"Well this is a fine mess. The Heartless and the Nobodies will just keep causing trouble if we can't figure out who's behind it," said Donald.

"Young ones, perhaps the question you should find the answer to is not who but why," said Grandmother Willow.

"Why? What do you mean, Grandmother Willow?" asked Pocahontas. "Why are the Heartless and Nobodies suddenly flocking to this world?" asked the tree.

Everyone pondered the question in silence. Suddenly, the silence was broken by Mickey who exclaimed, "Oh my gosh! That's it! I can't believe we didn't think of it. The answer is obvious!"

"What is it, your majesty?" asked Goofy. "Tell us!" exclaimed Sora. Everyone gave their full attention to Mickey.

"Think about it, fellas. What is it that draws Heartless to people and worlds?" asked Mickey. "That answer's easy. They want hearts and they especially like ones that have great darkness in them," said Sora.

"And what stirs darkness in hearts?" asked Mickey. "That's easy too. Negative feelings such as anger and hatred increase the darkness in people's hearts and that draws the Heartless to them," said Riku.

All of a sudden, everyone but Pocahontas and John opened their eyes wide. The answer had hit them.

"Hatred! That's the key! Ever since the settlers came here, there's been increasing hatred and hostility between them and the Powhatans. And as it increases, more Heartless come here with their Nobody allies," said Sora.

"That's correct. Both sides are responsible for the attacks though they don't realize it," said Mickey.

Both Pocahontas and John looked astonished upon hearing what Mickey said. It was hard to believe that their people could be responsible for such evil creatures attacking them. But given what they had learned from Sora, Mickey and the rest of the party, it began to all make sense.

"You figured out this before we got here, didn't you, Grandmother Willow?" asked Pocahontas. The old tree smiled and said, "True wisdom cannot simply be given. It must be acquired on one's own."

"Wait a minute, everyone. There's still one piece to this puzzle missin'. We still haven't explained the sightings that Sora and Pocahontas have seen. Ya know, the members of both sides at the sight of each attack?" asked Goofy.

"It must be one of Heartless' tricks. They've posed as normal humans in the past often to trick their prey. And in this case, they're using the hatred between the two peoples to goad them into fighting each other," said Sora.

"So what can we do?" asked John. "I think the answer is very clear. All of you must find a way to forge a peace between the Powhatans and the settlers," said Grandmother Willow.

"Well that's easier said than done," said Donald. "Donald's right. From the way things are right now, getting anyone of either side to talk with the other is nearly impossible. Present company excluded of course," said Riku.

"We've got to try. Otherwise, the Heartless are just going to keep coming here until no one can possibly stop them. Maybe we can try to appeal to the leaders. Pocahontas, could you talk to your father about making peace with the settlers?" asked Kairi.

"I could try, Kairi. But like Riku said, it's not going to be easy. But we do have to try something," said Pocahontas.

"I'll come with you, Pocahontas. I think one of us should assess the situation at the village and it should be one who will not draw much attention," said Jiminy. "That's a good idea, Jiminy," said Grandmother Willow.

"In the meantime, I think the rest of you'd all better come back with me to the camp. I don't like our odds but maybe we can appeal to Thomas and the others and make them realize their hostility towards Pocahontas' people is endangering them all," said John.

"Then it's settled. Since it's getting late, let's all meet back here tomorrow sometime. Pocahontas, could you send Jiminy to us in the camp when you're ready to meet?" asked Sora.

"I will, Sora. I will see you all then. Good luck," said Pocahontas. "Same to you as well, Pocahontas," said Goofy.

And with that, the party sans Jiminy and John left the glade. Those that remained watched them go until they were out of sight.

Grandmother Willow noticed that Pocahontas had a troubled look on her face. "Is something wrong, my dear?" she asked.

"I don't know, Grandmother Willow. It feels like I'm betraying my people by associating with them. And yet it seems like it's the right thing to do," said the native woman.

"These are confusing times, my dear. But remember what I've told you before. You must listen with your heart and you will be guided on the right path," said the tree.

"She's right, Pocahontas. We'll find a solution to your world's current troubles. If there's one thing I've learned from my travels with my friends, it's that we always do," said Jiminy.

"I hope you're right. Let's get to the village. I'm sure my father is going to be worried. Farewell, Grandmother Willow," said Pocahontas. "Farewell, my Pocahontas. And good luck," said Grandmother Willow as her face vanished into the tree.

Pocahontas then began to make her way in the direction of her village. Jiminy leapt on Meeko's back as he and Flit followed after her.

A most eventful day for all of them was coming to a conclusion. It was also most likely that an even more eventful one was going to come tomorrow.

_Author's note: Now things will really start to heat up. I know in the games that Sora and the gang don't usually stay overnight in the worlds. But this isn't a video game like I've said before. In conclusion, it may be awhile before I post the next chapter. Heading off to Disneyworld. Maybe I'll get some inspiration. Keep reading and reviewing. I love it when you guys do._


End file.
